•     ' 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 


PRESENTED  BY 

PROF.  CHARLES  A.  KOFOID  AND 
MRS.  PRUDENCE  W.  KOFOID 


TREES,  PLANTS,  AND  FLOWERS, 


WHERE  AND  HOW  THEY  GROW. 


A    FAMILIAR    HISTORY   OF 


THE  VEGETABLE  KINGDOM. 


BY  THE   AUTHOR   OF 


"OUR    OWN    BIRDS." 


WITH     SEVENTY-THREE     ENGRAVINGS. 


PHILADELPHIA: 
J.    B.    LIPPINCOTT   &    CO. 

1876 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1869,  by 
J.  B.  LIPPJNCOTT  &  CO., 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  th« 
Eastern  District  of  Pennsylvania. 


PEEFACE. 


'JL'HERE  are  few  recreative  pleasures  to  which 
tlie  minds  of  children  can  be  turned  with  more 
real  advantage,  than  to  the  close  observance 
of  the  beauties  of  the  creation.  We  are  every- 
where surrounded  by  objects  of  deep  interest, 
which  attract  but  little  attention  because  their 
appearance  is  so  familiar.  But  it  certainly  is 
an  evidence  that  we  do  not  sufficiently  appre- 
ciate the  blessings  which  our  Heavenly  Father 
has  conferred  upon  us,  when  we  look  with  in- 
difference upon  the  beautiful  adornments  of 
that  world  which  his  own  hand  hath  created, 
and  whose  every  charm  he  hath  so  evidently 
designed  for  our  enjoyment. 

How  elevating  are  the  thoughts  which  are 
begotten  by  the  contemplation  of  these  objects  I 
1*  (v) 


VI  PEE  FACE. 

how  soft  and  gentle  are  the  influences  which 
take  possession  of  the  mind,  when  it  turns  the 
channel  of  its  musings  from  the  bright  world 
around  it,  to  the  great  Fountain  and  Source 
and  Creator  of  all. 

There  is  probably  no  time  in  life  when  a 
fondness  for  the  study  of  Nature  may  be  more 
safely  cultivated  than  in  early  childhood.  It 
is  then  that  the  mind  turns  with  true  simpli- 
city from  the  visible  objects  of  its  admiration, 
to  the  adoration  of  the  Invisible  whc  created 
them;  and  what  more  happy  moment  than 
this  to  instil  into  the  mind  of  a  child  the  great 
truths  of  that  religion,  whose  sublime  doctrines 
are  so  abundantly  illustrated  in  Holy  Writ  by 
direct  references  to  objects  in  the  outward 
world  ?  Our  Saviour,  in  his  teachings  to  his 
disciples,  frequently  alludes  to  the  beauties  of 
his  Father's  creation  :  "  Consider  the  lilies  of 
the  field  how  they  grow ;  they  toil  not,  neither 
do  they  spin ;  and  yet  I  say  unto  you  that 
Solomon  in  all  his  glory  was  not  arrayed  like 
one  of  these." 

The  object  of  these  pages  is  not  so  much  to 
attempt  a  description  of  rare  and  curious 


PEEFACE.  Vll 

plants,  as,  by  presenting  some  of  the  leading 
principles  of  Botany  in  a  familiar  manner,  to 
beget  in  the  reader  an  interest  in  a  study  which 
will  at  once  prove  a  profitable  pleasure  and  a 
wholesome  recreation.  The  flora  of  our  own 
land  possesses  attractions  to  all  classes,  inas- 
much as  it  lies  within  the  reach  of  all.  The 
schoolboy  may  gather,  as  he  goes,  gems  from 
the  grassy  roadside,  which,  if  they  be  but  the 
simplest  of  flowers,  will  bear  the  impress  of  a 
Divine  finger,  and  convey  a  lesson  of  deep  in- 
struction. Let  us  not  then  undervalue  the 
least  of  His  works,  who  created  nothing  in 
vain,  but  who, 

With  consummate  skill  devised  the  plan 

That  creation's  every  voice  should  whisper 
Words  of  peace,  and  joy,  and  hope  to  man 


INTRODUCTION. 


THERE  is  no  time  in  the  day  better  suited  to  the 
study  of  Nature  than  the  early  hours  of  the  morn- 
ing. Every  thing  is  bright  and  fresh  and  beau- 
tiful; the  sweet  little  songsters  are  warbling  their 
sprightliest  notes;  the  lambs  are  skipping  merrily 
over  the  soft  green  sod,  from  which  the  morning  sun 
has  not  dispelled  the  sparkling  dew;  the  tall  trees 
wave  their  heads  majestically  to  and  fro ;  the  babbling 
brook  murmurs  its  softest  melodies ;  while  upon  the 
gently  blowing  gale  is  borne  the  rich  fragrance  of 
many  a  fresh  opening  flower. 

The  whole  creation  is  exhilarated  by  the  rest  of 
the  night;  and  the  mind,  as  well  as  the  body,  being 
refreshed  by  repose,  becomes  more  capable  of  enjoy- 
ment; and  if  we  can  go  forth  with  our  hearts  laden 
with  gratitude  to  our  Maker  for  his  blessings,  we 
shall  be  able  to  see  in  all  his  works,  the  evidences 
of  a  superior  wisdom,  so  adapting  one  part  to  another, 

(W 


X  INTRODUCTION. 

that  each  seems  to  minister  to  the  wants  and  the  hap- 
piness of  the  other. 

There  are  many  objects  of  great  beauty  and  in- 
terest, which  can  only  be  observed  to  advantage  in 
the  morning  There  are  thousands  of  beautiful  birds, 
which  are  active  and  busy  in  hopping  about  the  trees, 
and  sometimes  about  the  very  doors  of  our  houses, 
early  in  the  day,  that  retire  to  the  deep  shade  of  the 
forests,  and  pass  the  sultry  hours  of  noon  in  the  tops 
of  the  tallest  trees,  and  there  remain  so  quiet  that 
few  are  aware  of  their  existence. 

Most  flowers  also  open  their  petals  to  catch  the 
first  glimpses  of  the  morning  sun,  at  which  time  their 
colors  are  most  brilliant,  and  their  fragrance  the 
sweetest.  If,  then,  you  would  study  Nature  to  advan- 
tage, you  must  devote  to  it  the  earliest  hours  of  the 
morning. 


Various  Grasses. 

CHAPTER  I. 

GRASSES THEIR    PECULIAR    FORM  AND  APPEARANCE MAN- 
NER OF  GROWTH ADAPTATION    TO    THEIR    USES — WHEAT 

BARLEY — MAIZE — OATS — RICE — PAPYRUS PAMPA  GRASS. 

"HE  first  visible  objects  that  were 
created  in  the  beginning,  after  the 
waters  were  gathered  together,  and 
the  dry  land  had  appeared,  were 
grasses. 

"And  God  said,  Let  the  earth 
bring  forth  grass,  the  herb  yielding  seed,  and 
the  fruit-tree  yielding  fruit  after  his  kind, 
whose  seed  is  in  itself  upon  the  earth ;  and  it 
was  so.  And  the  earth  brought  forth  grass, 
and  herb  yielding  seed  after  his  kind,  and  the  tree 

(11) 


12  GRASSES. 

yielding  fruit,  whose  seed  was  in  itself  after  his 
kind ;  and  it  was  so ;  and  God  saw  that  it  was  good." 

The  term  grass,  as  it  is  sometimes  used  in  Scrip- 
ture, evidently  includes  a  great  variety  of  plants,  as 
in  the  passage  commencing  with,  "If  God  so  clothe 
the  grass  of  the  field  which  to-day  is  and  to-morrow 
is  cast  into  the  oven,"  &c.,  it  undoubtedly  alludes  to 
the  various  smaller  herbs  which  commonly  grow  in 
the  fields,  as  in  those  days  the  stems  of  plants  were 
often  gathered  by  the  poorer  classes,  and  used  for 
fuel. 

Of  what  is  commonly  called  grass,  there  are  many 
varieties,  some  of  them  possessing  properties  which 
render  them  very  useful;  while  others  seem  to  be 
created  for  the  special  purpose  of  beautifying  the 
earth.  Children  may  often  be  seen  plucking  their 
tall  straight  stems,  and  seem  to  take  much  delight  in 
arranging  them  into  bunches;  and  we  might  suppose 
that  the  interest  generally  felt  in  the  soft  verdure 
and  the  cool  and  refreshing  appearance  of  a  luxuriant 
grassy  field  or  lawn,  would  excite  in  all  but  the  most 
indifferent  a  desire  of  knowing  something  more  than 
that  certain  plants  are  called  grasses,  as  an  acquaint- 
ance with  their  structure  and  properties  cannot  fail 
to  afford  both  instruction  and  entertainment. 

The  vegetable  kingdom  is  divided  into  three  great 
natural  orders,  called  Acrogenous,  Exogenous,  and 
Endogenous,  terms  referring  to  their  different  modes 
of  growing.  To  the  last  of  these  belong  the  grasses. 
The  word  Endogenous  means  ingrowing ;  that  is,  the 
increase  in  the  growth  takes  place  upon  the  interior 


GRASSES.  13 

of  the  stem,  which  is  often  hollow,  though  mostly 
filled  with  a  soft  pithy  substance,  which  becomes 
harder  as  it  nears  the  outer  surface  of  the  stem.  The 
peculiar  formation  of  the  leaves  of  endogenous  plants 
is  also  striking;  the  veins  all  run  parallel  to  each 
other,  mostly  throughout  their  entire  length,  instead 
of  branching  off  and  forming  the  beautiful  and 
prominent  net-work  so  noticeable  in  others.  To 
this  order  also  belong  a  variety  of  plants  differing 
widely  from  the  grasses,  such  as  some  species  of  the 
Lilies,  the  Orchids,  and  many  more,  some  of  which 
will  be  mentioned  hereafter. 

The  stems  of  most  plants  are  much  branched,  but 
the  formation  of  the  grasses  is  peculiar,  the  stalk 
being  mostly  tubular  and  jointed,  and  quite  simple, 
except  where,  in  some  instances,  it  is  parted  to  give 
place  to  a  cluster  of  flowers.  The  leaves  are  very 
long  and  narrow,  and  the  flowers  are  variously  ar- 
ranged, sometimes  scattered  loosely  upon  the  stem, 
as  in  the  oats,  sometimes  in  a  short  compact  head, 
suspended  from  the  ends  of  long  and  slender  branch- 
lets,  as  in  the  Rattlesnake's  grass;  and  sometimes 
they  are  densely  crowded  at  the  end  of  the  stem,  in 
a  lengthened  spike,  as  in  Wheat,  Rye,  and  Timothy. 
Each  flower  is  composed  of  concave  valves,  placed 
one  over  the  other ;  they  are  most  conspicuous  when 
the  beautiful  white,  yellow,  purple  or  scarlet  anthers, 
which  are  hung  gracefully  upon  their  slender  fila- 
ments, project  from  the  lips  of  the  corolla :  the  plant 
is  then  in  bloom,  and  who  does  not  admire  a  specimen 
2 


H  GRASSES. 

of  fresh -blown  Fox  Grass  or  Timothy,  especially 
when  on  some  foggy  morning  the  minute  particles 
of  moisture  have  settled  upon  the  delicate  stamens, 
giving  them  the  appearance  of  being  thickly  studded 
with  jewels  ? 

We  have  said  that  many  of  these  plants  have 
jointed  stems  '}  this  is  observed  in  those  whose  leaves 
grow  one  above  the  other ;  each  joint  here  answers 
the  double  purpose  of  giving  strength  to  the  stem 
and  support  to  the  leaf.  But,  in  other  varieties,  the 
only  leaves  produced  are  what  are  called  radical,  or 
leaves  growing  from  the  root;  with  these  the  stems 
are  not  jointed,  but  receive  additional  strength  from 
their  being  sometimes  triangular  or  square,  and  mostly 
very  fleshy  and  stout. 

It  is  a  remarkable  provision  of  Nature,  that  those 
plants  which  appear  to  have  been  designed  for  food, 
either  bear  seed  in  great  abundance,  or  are  supplied 
with  some  separate  provision  for  reproducing  them- 
selves ;  this  is  particularly  noticeable  in  the  grasses. 
Wheat,  Rye,  Corn,  Oats,  Rice,  and  Barley,  which 
constitute  staple  articles  of  food,  all  produce  their 
seed  in  great  quantities  '}  while  in  many  species  whose 
seed  supply  the  wants  of  the  birds,  the  roots  are 
porcnnial  and  creeping,  and  are  continually  sending 
up  suckers,  thus  increasing  themselves  many-fold  by 
a  distinct  method. 

Those  seeds  which  require  to  be  sown  every  year 
are  reserved  for  the  use  of  man,  whose  superior  in- 
tellect teaches  him  the  proper  mode  of  rendering 


GRASSES.  15 

them  useful ;  while  the  inferior  animals  depend  en 
tirely  upon  that  provision  which  Nature  has  made  for 
their  supply. 

How  beautifully  do  these  facts  illustrate  those 
words  of  our  Saviour :  "  Consider  the  ravens,  for  they 
neither  sow  nor  reap,  which  neither  have  storehouse 
nor  barn,  and  God  feedeth  them ! " 

The  cereal  grasses,  or  corn  plants,  are  very  rapid 
in  their  growth,  and  in  a  surprisingly  short  time 
send  up  a  tall  hollow  stem,  divided  by  joints,  where 
the  leaves  are  inserted,  one  at  each  joint,  on  the  alter- 
nate sides  of  the  stem ;  each  leaf  embracing  the  stem 
like  a  sheath. 

Wheat  stands  at  the  head  of  the  cereal  grasses  for 
its  great  productiveness  and  utility.  Thene  are  seve- 
ral cultivated  varieties  of  Wheat,  the  origin  of  all  of 
which  is  involved  in  obscurity.  No  where  has  it  been 
found  in  a  wild  state;  at  least,  botanists  have  not 
been  able  to  identify  any  of  the  wild  species  with 
those  in  cultivation.  There  is  no  doubt  of  its  great 
antiquity,  grains  having  frequently  been  found  en- 
closed with  the  mummies  of  Egypt.  Some  of  these 
having  been  sown,  have  produced  plants  similar  to 
those  now  grown  in  the  Levant. 

There  is  much  to  admire  in  a  simple  grain  of  wheat. 
It  contains  within  itself  a  marvellous  vegetative  power, 
which,  after  having  lain  for  centuries  in  the  darkness 
and  obscurity  of  an  Egyptian  tomb,  is  capable,  if 
rightly  managed,  of  being  made  to  yield  not  only  a 
new  plant,  with  its  abundant  spike,  but  also  plant 
after  plant,  and  spike  after  spike,  until  the  produce 


16 


GRASSES. 


of  this  single  grain  might  at  length  feed  a  family, 
the  dwellers  in  a  village,  the  inhabitants  of  a  city, 
and  even  of  a  nation,  or  of  the  world. 

Barley,  although  not 
so  much  grown  in  this 
country  as  some  other 
corn  plants,  is  neverthe- 
less the  principal  crop  in 
some  parts  of  the  world. 
In  Egypt  and  Syria  it 
forms  the  staple  grain  for 
making  bread.  It  is  not 
capable  of  producing  the 
beautiful  white  and  fine- 
grained loaves  that  are 
made  from  wheat,  as  it 
lacks  the  glutinous  pro- 
perties which  are  neces- 
sary to  facilitate  the  ac- 
tion of  the  leaven.  It  is  therefore  made  into  thin 
cakes  without  the  use  of  yeast,  and  hence  it  has  been 
called  unleavened  bread. 

We  read  of  such  cakes  in  very  early  times.  Some, 
most  probably  of  Barley,  are  mentioned  when  the 
Lord  appeared  to  Abraham  in  the  plains  of  Mamre, 
and  the  patriarch  said  to  Sarah,  "  Make  ready  quickly 
three  measures  of  fine  meal;  knead  it,  and  make 
cakes  on  the  hearth."  Gen.  xviii.  6.  The  Arabs  of 
the  desert  act  precisely  in  this  way  now,  when  they 
entertain  strangers,  using  Barley  meal  to  prepare  their 
hearth-cakes.  And  the  bread  used  by  our  Lord  when 


Wheat,  Barley,  and  Ilice. 


GRASSES.  17 

he  fed  the  multitude  with  five  loaves  and  two  small 
fishes,  is  expressly  stated  to  have  been  made  of  bar- 
ley. John  vi.  9. 

It  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  so  great  a  quantity 
of  Barley  should  be  wasted  in  producing  intoxicating 
liquors,  so  destructive  to  the  peace  of  mankind,  this 
being  the  best  grain  for  distillation ;  and  from  the 
ready  market  thus  obtained,  the  farmer  is  often  led 
to  grow  barley,  and  neglect  crops  which  would  be 
useful  in  supplying  the  means  of  human  subsistence. 

The  most  important  grain  next  to  wheat  is  Maize, 
or  Indian  Corn,  which  is  a  native  of  America,  and 
was  cultivated  by  the  Indians  previous  to  the  landing 
of  Columbus.  It  may  be  a  matter  of  surprise  to 
some,  that  this  plant  should  be  ranked  among  the 
grasses ;  but  a  little  examination  into  its  structure  and 
habits  will  at  once  show  its  connection  with  them.  It 
attains  a  much  larger  growth  than  any  other  of  the 
corn  plants,  although  there  are  many  other  grasses 
which  even  exceed  it  in  height. 

Maize  is  extensively  cultivated  in  every  part  of  the 
continent  of  North  America.  In  the  western  states 
it  is  particularly  productive,  as  it  sometimes  yields, 
under  the  combined  influence  of  the  rich  soil  and 
genial  climate,  at  the  rate  of  eight  hundred  for  one. 

Maize  has  never  been  cultivated  in  Europe  with 
success,  the  climate  not  being  favorable  to  its  growth ; 
hence  it  is  rarely  seen  in  England,  except  where  a 
few  stalks  are  raised  as  curiosities. 

Oats  is  probably  the  next  grain  of  importance,  espe- 
cially in  America,  where  it  forms  one  of  the  princi- 
2*  B 


18 


GRASSES. 


Panicle  of  Oats. 


pal  crops,  being  extensively 
used  as  feed  for  horses  and 
cattle ;  it  is  much  easier  of 
culture  than  wheat,  and  can 
be  grown  on  soil  that  would 
scarcely  produce  a  good  crop 
of  any  other  grain.  In  Ire- 
land it  is  raised  in  great 
quantities,  and  together  with 
potatoes,  forms  a  considera- 
ble part  of  the  food  of  the 
peasantry.  Almost  any  cli- 
mate is  adapted  to  the  growth 

of  Oats.  Good  crops  have  been  seen  growing  close 
to  the  line  of  perpetual  snow,  at  the  Glacier  de  Bois- 
sons,  on  Mont  Blanc;  and  it  is  said  to  have  been 
found  in  a  wild  state  on  the  island  of  Juan  Fernan- 
des,  in  the  Southern  Ocean ;  but  the  few  plants  dis- 
covered there  may  have  been  produced  by  grains 
accidentally  scattered  by  some  of  the  pirates  who  in- 
fested those  seas  soon  after  the  discovery  of  the  island. 
Rice  is  a  native  of  warm  climates,  and  differs  in 
the  mode  of  its  cultivation  from  any  other  grain  that 
is  grown.  Those  spots  where  various  animal  and 
vegetable  substances  are  washed  down  by  rivers,  are 
most  favorable  to  its  growth.  The  marshy  parts  of 
Hindostan  and  Carolina  are  among  the  chief  portions 
of  the  globe  where  rice  is  brought  to  perfection.  But 
the  American  rice  is  generally  considered  as  being 
much  better  than  that  which  is  grown  in  the  East 
Indies. 


GRASSES.  19 

The  rice-fields  of  Carolina  lie  adjacent  to  the  larger 
rivers  which  flow  toward  the  sea,  and  down  whose 
rapid  currents  the  floods  of  each  Spring  bring  a  fresh 
deposit  of  soil.  They  are  enclosed  in  some  places  by 
neat  embankments,  through  openings  in  which  the 
water  is  allowed  to  run  at  such  times  as  it  is  needed. 
The  rice-seed  is  sown  in  a  rich  plot  of  ground,  and 
allowed  to  attain  the  height  of  a  few  inches,  when 
the  plants  are  removed  into  the  fields  where  they  are 
to  grow  ]  the  ground  having  been  previously  prepared 
by  being  overflowed  with  water  until  it  is  thoroughly 
saturated.  These  plantations  require  to  be  kept  con- 
stantly moist,  and  as  they  usually  lie  below  the  level 
of  the  river,  by  opening  the  sluices  in  the  embank- 
ments they  are  readily  watered;  this  operation  is 
repeated  several  times  during  its  growth. 

•A  field  of  young  rice  is  a  beautiful  and  interesting 
sight,  but  the  great  amount  of  decayed  vegetation 
which  the  soil  contains,  renders  the  atmosphere  very 
unhealthy,  and  few  persons  beside  the  negroes  em- 
ployed in  cultivation  can  remain  in  the  neighborhood 
with  safety. 

In  the  list  of  useful  grasses  we  must  not  forget 
the  Bulrush  spoken  of  in  the  Bible.  This  appears 
to  be  no  other  than  the  paper-reed  of  the  Egyptians. 
The  ark  in  which  the  infant  Moses  lay  among  the 
sedges  of  the  Nile,  was  made  of  this  plant.  Isaiah 
speaks  of  the  paper-reeds  by  the  brooks,  (Is.  xix.  7,) 
which  undoubtedly  alludes  to  the  same,  as  it  was 
found  in  great  abundance,  not  only  in  the  shallow 


20 


GRASSES. 


parts  of  the  Nile,  but  in  the  little  streams  in  the 
vicinity. 

The  Papyrus,  or 
Paper  -  Reed,  has  a 
thick  triangular  stem, 
eight  or  ten  feet  in 
height,  and  is  said 
always  to  turn  one  of 
its  angles  toward  the 
current,  as  though  to 
break  the  force  of  the 
waves.  It  formerly  was 
very  abundant  in  all 
parts  of  Egypt,  Abys- 
sinia, and  Syria,  but 
modern  travellers  de- 
scribe it  as  now  being 
very  rare. 

Papyrus.  From  the  very  ear- 

liest ages  of  Egypt,  papyrus  appears  to  have  been 
used  for  various  purposes,  but  especially  for  the  man- 
ufacture of  paper.  Herodotus  mentions  paper  made 
from  it  as  being  an  article  of  commerce  long  before 
his  time ;  he  calls  it  byblos.  This  name,  it  is  sup- 
posed, is  the  origin  of  the  Greek  word  billion,  or 
book,  whence  comes  the  term  Bible.  The  paper  made 
by  the  ancients  was  formed  of  the  pellicle  found  be- 
tween the  bark  and  the  fleshy  part  of  the  stem ;  the 
pieces  of  this  were  united  together  until  they  were 
of  a  suitable  size,  when  they  were  pressed  and  dried 
in  the  sun.  Many  manuscripts,  written  upon  this 


GRASSES.  21 

paper,  have  been  found  in  the  swathings  of  mum- 
mies, which  were  perfectly  legible,  and  are  interesting 
on  account  of  their  great  antiquity.    Paper  was  made 
from  the  papyrus  until  the  eleventh  or  twelfth  cen- 
tury, when  it  was  superseded  by  that  made  from 
cotton.      The   papyrus   had    also   many   other   uses 
among  the  inhabitants  of  Africa.     Boats  of  a  consi- 
derable size  were  made  of  it,  and  are  spoken  of  in  the 
Scriptures.    The  tassel-like  flowers  which  surmounted 
its  tall  straight  stems  were  worn  as  coronals  by  illus- 
trious men.     The  Abyssinians  chewed  the  root  and 
the  woody  parts  of  the  stem,  its  sweet  juice  resem- 
bling liquorice.    The  stems,  as  well  as  being  used  for 
fuel,  were  also  made  into  cordage,  and  woven  into  a 
coarse  matting  which  was  used  for  various  purposes. 
Those  grasses,  which  seem  to  be  created  rather  for 
the  purpose  of  increasing  our  happiness  by  affording 
a  pleasing  and  grateful  prospect  to  the  eye,  than  to 
minister  to  our  comfort  by  supplying  the  wants  of 
the  body,  are  so  numerous  and  so  widely  distributed, 
that  all  are  familiar  with  some  of  them,  and  as  any 
attempt  to  describe  them  would  be  useless  in  so  small 
a  compass  as  could  be  assigned  them  here,  we  shall 
only  cite  a  single  example,  leaving  it  to  the  readers 
to  enter  more  fully  into  the  subject  as  their  interest 
or  pleasure  may  incline  them,  there  being  few,  per- 
haps, who  have  not  the  opportunity  of  seeing  them 
in  profusion,  as  they  exist  almost  everywhere,  and 

"Clothe  all  climes  in  beauty." 


22 


GRASSES. 


The  Pampas  Grass  is  a  native  of  Brazil,  and  covers 
large  tracts  of  country  in  the  vicinity  of  Buenos  Ayres, 
known  as  the  Pampas,  whence  its  name  is  derived. 
It  grows  to  the  height  of  twelve  or  fourteen  feet. 
Many  beautiful  specimens  are  to  be  seen  cultivated 
in  the  gardens  of  England,  where  the  mildness  of 
the  climate  is  favorable  to  its  growth.  The  annexed 
cut  is  a  sketch  of  a  plant  growing  in  the  grounds  of 


GRASSES.  23 

Stoke  Park,  which  was  long  the  seat  of  the  Penn 
family  of  Pennsylvania  celebrity. 

These  plants  show  to  much  better  advantage  when 
grown  separately,  as  the  long  leaves,  of  which  there 
is  a  great  profusion,  hang  in  thick  tufts  on  every 
side.  From  the  centre  of  these,  the  tall  straight 
stems  rise  several  feet  above  the  mass  of  foliage,  and 
are  crowned  with  large  plume-like  heads  of  silvery- 
white  flowers.  Some  of  these  separate  plants  have 
attained  the  height  of  fourteen  feet,  with  a  diameter 
of  about  eighteen  feet;  and  occasionally  they  have 
been  seen  with  as  many  as  fifty  heads  of  flowers. 

How  beautifully  does  this  majestic  species  com- 
pare with  some  of  the  humble  little  varieties  which 
are  scattered  over  our  meadows !  and  yet,  while  Grod 
hath  given  extraordinary  grace  and  beauty  to  one, 
he  has  also  endowed  the  others  with  qualities  which 
render  them  none  the  less  curious,  and  far  more  use- 
ful. How  wonderfully  are  they  adapted  to  the  various 
uses  assigned  them  !  If  animals  were  allowed  to  feed 
upon  the  foliage  of  the  Pampas  Grass,  its  beauty 
would  be  marred,  and  the  life  of  the  plant  endan-- 
gered ;  but  not  so  with  the  meadow-grass ;  the  more 
its  leaves  are  cropped,  the  wider  spreads  the  plant ; 
the  more  it  is  trampled  upon,  the  thicker  and  softer 
it  grows ;  and  so  far  from  being  killed  by  the  frosts 
of  winter,  it  seems  only  to  gather  more  life  from  re- 
pose, and  upon  the  return  of  spring  it  again  shoots 
forth  with  renewed  freshness  and  vi^or 


24  FLO  WEES. 


CHAPTER  II. 


FLOWERS  —  THEIR  VARIOUS  FORMS  AND  COLORS — PARTS  OF  A 
FLOWER  —  ARRANGEMENT  UPON  THE  STEM NIGHT-BLOOM- 
ING CEREUS — EVENING  PRIMROSE — EFFECT  OF  LIGHT  UPON 
THE  BLOOM  OF  FLOWERS — PERFECTING  OF  THE  SEED — THE 
FRUIT. 

COME,  brother  Freddy,  let's  go  gather  some  flowers, 
Here  are  the  violets  all  sweetly  in  bloom ; 

And  the  roses  just  washed  by  plentiful  showers, 
Will  regale  with  their  soft  and  lovely  perfume. 

Here  are  tulips  with  petals  of  every  hue, 
And  a  white  lily  with  its  bosom  so  fair; 

While  daisies  and  jonquils  and  hyacinths  too, 
Are  casting  their  fragrance  around  on  the  air. 

The  honeysuckles  cluster  on  every  spray, 

That  twines  o'er  the  lattice  or  droops  from  the  wall; 
Where  the  Humming-bird  sips  the  nectar  away, 

And  honey-bees  gather  their  stores  for  the  fall. 

Here's  sweet  flow'ring  almonds,  a  token  of  spring, 
And  yellow  corcoras  as  brilliant  as  gold; 

With  the  gay  Columbine,  as  pretty  a  thing 
I'm  sure,  as  we  ever  need  wish  to  behold. 

And  primrose  and  cowslip  with  poppies  intervene, 
Kingcups  and  primulas  all  smiling  and  gay ; 

Geraniums  and  foxglove  in  plenty  are  seen, 
All  standing  in  bright  and  imposing  array. 


FLOWERS.  25 

Come,  while  the  lark  its  sweet  anthem  is  singing, 
And  the  breath  of  the  morn  is  freshened  by  showers : 

The  voice  of  the  thrush  through  the  woodland  is  ringing, 
Come,  little  brother,  let  us  gather  some  flowers. 


MONO  the  diversified  products  of 
Creative  Wisdom,  there  are  perhaps 
no  more  attractive  objects  than 
flowers,  and  none  to  which  the 
mind  turns  with  greater  pleasure. 
See  how  lovely  and  beautiful  they 
are  in  their  multiplied  forms  and  colors,  and 
how  interesting  and  wonderful  in  their  distri- 
bution and  uses.  Some  are  decked  in  colors 
so  brilliant  as  to  bid  defiance  to  all  imitation, 
or  marked  with  tints  so  delicate  as  to  set  at  naught 
the  skill  of  the  artist;  while  others,  as  emblems  of 
perfect  purity,  are  arrayed  in  vestures  of  snowy  white- 
ness. 

Nature  has  scattered  these  beautiful  objects  with 
an  unsparing  hand  over  every  portion  of  the  globe; 
they  smile  in  clusters  among  the  decayed  leaves  of 
the  wood,  and  the  pasture-fields  are  dotted  all  over 
with  their  ever-varying  hues.  They  rear  their  gay 
heads  to  the  sun  in  gaudy  profusion  in  the  ever- 
glowing  regions  of  the  south,  and  peep  out  in  modest 
loveliness  from  beneath  the  Arctic  snows. 

There  is  something  happy  in  the  thought  that  the 
pleasure  to  be  derived  from  flowers  is  open  to  the 
youngest,  and  the  poorest  of  mankind ;  they  are  gifts 
3 


26 


FLOWERS. 


which  Nature  hands  alike  to  all.  It  has  been  said 
that  birds  are  the  poor  man's  music,  so  wild  flowers 
may  be  said  to  be  the  poor  man's  poetry ;  for  him,  as 
for  all,  they  open  their  gay  petals,  and  exhale  the 
sweetest  odors ;  they  smile  upon  his  toils,  and  add 
new  charms  to  repose. 

To  children,  flowers  are  an  unfailing  source  of  de- 
light ;  and  the  first  blossom  that  flings  its  fragrance 
upon  the  spring  air  is  welcomed  by  them  as  a  har- 
binger of  future  joys.  With  what  care  may  they 
often  be  seen  nursing  their  little  daisy-plants,  when 
their  whole  happiness  seems  wrapt  up  in  their  suc- 
cessful growth  !  And  the  violets  which  they  have 
dug  from  the  woods,  and  transplanted  into  their  own 
gardens,  are  watched  with  the  greatest  anxiety.  This 
love  of  children  for  flowers  is  implanted  in  their  young 
breasts  by  Him  who  created  every  blossom  pure  and 
beautiful,  and  a  fit  object  of  admiration  and  love. 

There  is  much  that  is  interesting  and  worthy  of 
our  attention  in  flowering  plants,  besides  thnir  beau- 
tiful colors,  and  attractive  and  showy  appearance; 
many  of  them  possess  peculiar  habits  which  render 


Complete    Stamens  and    Ovary  and 
flower.  Pistil.  Pistil. 


Calyx  and 
Corolla. 


Ovary  and 

Calyx. 


them  objects  of  wonder.    Even  the  simple  parts  of  a 
flower,  when  separated,  bear  evidence  of  a  superior 


FLOWERS.  27 

skill,  which  has  so  nicely  adapted  them  to  each  other. 
Let  us  see  what  they  are.  First  comes  the  Calyx, 
or  the  cup  which  supports  the  flower ;  this  is  some- 
times entire,  but  more  frequently  parted  into  divi- 
sions, or  segments,  as  they  are  called ;  it  is  generally 
of  a  pale  green  color,  but,  in  some  instances,  as  in 
the  Fuchsia,  it  is  highly  colored ;  the  Calyx  also  acts 
as  a  covering  for  the  seed-vessels.  The  delicate  and 
richly  colored  leaves  or  petals,  which  stand  just  with- 
in the  calyx  form  the  corolla.  Some  flowers  have 
neither  calyx  nor  corolla,  and  cluster  around  a  pen- 
dent spike,  as  in  the  Willow  and  Hazel ;  these  are 
termed  Catkins.  At  the  base  of 
the  corolla  there  generally  appears 
the  Nectary,  so  called  from  its  se- 
creting a  sweet  fluid  called  nectar. 
This  is  the  store  from  which  the 
bee  derives  its  honey,  and  from  this 
delicious  fountain  the  lovely  little 
Humming -Bird,  poised  upon  its  Catkin,  Hazel, 
rapid  wings,  extracts  through  its  slender  bill  the 
sweet  food  which  it  conveys  to  its  young. 

The  most  important  organs  in  the  flower  are  those 
which  produce  the  seed.  These  consist  of  two 
principal  parts,  called  Stamens  and  Pistils.  They 
mostly  exist  in  the  same  flower ;  but  in  some  cases 
they  not  only  occupy  separate  flowers,  but  are  pro- 
duced upon  separate  plants.  At  the  base  of  the  pistil 
is  the  seed-vessel  or  Ovary,  which  is  composed  of 
one  or  more  valves,  differing  in  form  in  different 
plants;  a  little  thread-like  stalk  called  a  Style, 


28  FLOWERS. 

rises  from  the  top  of  this  seed-vessel,  and  sup- 
ports a  small  spongy  substance  called  the  Stigma. 
Around  this  pistil,  or  pistils,  (as  there  are  sometimes 
many,)  are  placed  the  stamens,  each  consisting  of  a 
slender  thread,  or  filament,  supporting  a  little  bag, 
called  the  anther,  which  contains  the  pollen,  a  kind 
of  powder  or  dust;  when  this  powder  ripens,  the 
anthers  burst,  and  the  pollen  falls  upon  the  stigma, 
which  is  mostly  below,  and  thus  the  seed  in  the  ovary 
becomes  fertilized.  These  grains  of  pollen,  which 
are  very  minute,  when  seen  under  a  microscope  are 
of  various  shapes;  some  are  round  or  oval,  some 
square,  others  are  toothed  like  a  watch-wheel,  or  re- 
semble a  prickly  ball,  while  others  have  long  appen- 
dages or  tails. 

There  is  much  difference  observable  in  the  shape 
ind  size  of  flowers,  as  well  as  their  colorings ;  some 
are  large  and  showy,  while  others  are  so  diminutive 
as  to  require  the  aid  of  a  microscope  to  distinguish 
them.  Some  are  shaped  like  a  bell,  as  may  be  seen 
in  the  Campanula;  others  like  a  trumpet,  as  the  Con- 
volvulus and  Honeysuckle;  the  common  Snapdragon 
and  the  Scarlet  Sage  have  flowers  of  a  very  peculiar 
form,  called  ringent,  or  grinning,  from  their  resem- 
blance to  an  open  mouth ;  but  the  most  common  form 
of  flowers  is  the  shape  of  a  star  or  a  cross.  They 
generally  consist  of  from  four  to  eight  or  ten  petals, 
spreading  out  like  rays,  arranging  themselves  va- 
riously; sometimes  these  petals  are  broad  at  the 
base,  and  bend  upwards,  and  form  a  shallow  cup; 
sometimes  they  bend  backwards,  and  almost  clasp  the 


FLOWERS. 


29 


stem ;  the  flower  is  here  said  to  have  its  corolla  re- 
flected. 

Flowers  also  differ  in  their  arrangement.  Some 
grow  very  close  and  compact  around  one  common 
stalk,  which  is  frequently  quite  long,  as  in  the  Fox- 
glove; this  is  called  a  spike.  Sometimes  they  droop 
in  long  and  graceful  bunches,  like  Currants ;  these 
are  styled  racemes.  In  the  beautiful  Lilac  they  appear 
in  a  thick,  close  head,  or  ihyrse.  In  some  cases  they 
hang  loosely  upon  long  slender  branch- 
ing stems,  or  peduncles;  these  are 
panicles,  of  which  the  Oats  is  an  illus- 
tration. When  they  have  separate 
stalks  which  rise  from  a  common  cen- 
tre, and  spread  out  in  the  form  of  an 
umbrella,  as  in  the  Carrot,  they  are 
described  as  umbels  ;  when  these  stalks 
which  rise  from  one  centre  become 
much  branched,  and  the  flowers  more 
scattered,  as  may  be  seen  in  the  com- 
mon Elder,  we  call  it  a  cyme;  if  the 
clusters  grow  from  different  parts  of 
the  main  stalk,  and  the  stems  are  of 
different  lengths,  it  is  a  corymb ;  while  if  the  flowers 
are  on  very  short  stems,  and  form  a  close,  thick-set 
cluster,  it  bears  the  name  of  a  fascicle;  of  this  the 
Sweet  William  is  a  very  familiar  example. 

There  are  also  many  other  modes  of  flowering 

peculiar  to  different  plants,  but  these  are  the  most 

important,   as   many   of   those   which    come   under 

general  observation  will  be  found  to  have  one  or  an- 

3* 


Spike,  Fox- 
glove. 


30 


FLOWERS. 


Raceme,  Laburnum. 


other  of  these  methods  of  displaying  their  blossoms. 
There  is,  however,  a  very  interesting  exception  to  this 
in  the  common  Dogwood.  The 
flowers,  which  are  quite  small, 
are  clustered  in  close  heads,  and 
each  head  is  surrounded  by  four 
large  white  leaves,  which  are 
called  an  involucre.  These  leaves 
being  very  prominent  and  showy, 
are  often  mistaken  for  the  flower, 
while  they  only  act  as  appen- 
*  dages;  but  they  undoubtedly 

have  some  use  assigned  them;  perhaps  it  may  be 
to  protect  the  delicate  little  blossoms  from  the  cold 
night-winds  which  are  apt  to  prevail  in  the  early 
Spring,  while  they  are  in  bloom. 

Most  flowers  require  the  action 
of  light  to  cause  them  to  expand, 
and  many  never  open  except  un- 
der the  influence  of  the  most  bril- 
liant sunshine.  But  there  are  a 
few  instances  in  which  the  con- 
trary is  observed.  Far  down  in 
the  evergreen  forests  of  South 
America,  when  the  sun  has  set 
behind  the  tall  groves  of  Palm 
and  Mimosa,  and  the  glimmering  twilight  is  fast  fol- 
lowing in  its  train,  the  magnificent  flowers  of  the 
Night-blooming  Cereus  may  be  seen  just  opening  their 
fair  petals  to  catch  the  first  rays  of  the  full-orbed 
moon.  Travellers  in  the  tropics  describe  it  as  a  sight 


Fascicle,  Sweet  William. 


FLOWERS. 


31 


Umbel,  Carrot. 


worth  witnessing,  to  see  in  the 
same  forest  perhaps  hundreds  of 
these  lovely  blossoms  hanging  in 
profusion  from  the  branches  of 
the  trees,  and  loading  the  atmo- 
sphere with  the  most  delicious 
fragrance.  The  plants  upon 
which  they  grow  are  parasites, 
and  fasten  their  roots  into  the 
trunks  and  branches  of  the  trees.  The  flowers  are 
white,  and  very  large,  often  measuring  as  much  as 
nine  or  ten  inches  in  diameter.  They  commence  to 
blow  early  in  the  evening,  and  remain  open  during 
most  of  the  night,  when  they  close,  to  bloom  no  more. 
But  the  Evening  Primrose  is  a  much  more  familiar 
instance  in  which  the  approach  of  darkness  is  hailed 
by  the  opening  flower.  This  beautiful  and  interesting 
plant  grows  abundantly  in  our  fields,  and  on  the 
borders  of  our  woods;  and  is  frequently  culti- 
vated in  our  gardens.  It  unfolds  its  pale  yellow  blos- 
soms in  the  latter  part  of  the  day,  and 
the  process  of  opening  is  of  so  re- 
markable a  nature  as  to  claim  parti- 
cular notice.  The  divisions  of  the 
calyx  are  furnished  with  little  hooks 
at  their  extremities,  by  which  the 
flower  is  held  together  before  expan- 
sion. These  divisions  open  gradually 
at  the  bottom,  so  as  to  show  the  yel- 
low corolla  within,  when  suddenly  the 
flower  bursts  from  its  confinement,  and  opens  about 


Corymb,  Candy 
Tuft. 


32  FLOWERS. 

half  way,  being  still  partially  restrained  by  the  calyx ; 
it  then  continues  to  expand  gradually  for  some  time, 
when  it  finally  opens  with  a 
slight  noise.  This  occupies 
about  fifteen  minutes,  and  may 
be  witnessed  upon  almost  any 
summer's  evening. 

There  are  also  other  plants 
of  this  description,  which 
are  found  growing  in  many 
parts  of  the  world.  The  Mar- 
vel of  Peru  has  been  termed 
by  the  French, "  Belle  de  nuit," 
Cyme,  Eider.  on  account  of  this  peculiarity; 

and  the  night-winds  of  India  are  laden  with  the 
odors  of  the  large  blue,  lilac,  or  white  blossoms  of 
plants  of  so  magnificent  an  appearance  as  to  entitle 
them  to  the  appellation  of  the  "  Grlory  of  the  night." 
Some  plants,  the  flowers  of  which 
bloom  many  days  in  succession,  close 
their  petals  during  the  night,  while 
in  others  the  leaves  double   them- 
selves over  the  blossoms  to  shelter 
them  from  the  cold  dews.    LinnaBus, 
the    celebrated    Swedish    naturalist, 
termed  this  uthe  sleep  of  plants;" 
and  there  is  little  doubt  that  nearly 
all  are  more  or  less  affected  by  it, 
except  those  whose  habits  resemble 
the  Primrose.     Compound  leaves,  or 
Panicle  of  Grass,      such  as  are  composed  of  many  small 


FLOWERS.  33 

leaflets  arranged  on  both  sides  of  a  common  midrib, 
often  fold  themselves  together,  and  remain  in  a  droop- 
ing posture,  until  the  stimulating  influence  of  the 
sun's  rays  causes  them  again  to  expand. 

While,  as  has  been  observed,  most  flowers  require 
the  action  of  light  to  make  them  bloom,  the  ab- 
sence of  light  is  not  the  only  cause  of  their  folding 
up.  For  although  crocuses  are  so  tenacious  of  their 
privilege  of  opening  upon  the  first  appearance  of  the 
sun,  that  it  is  quite  easy  to  cheat  them  by  bringing 
them  near  a  lamp  in  the  evening,  yet  many  beautiful 
wild  as  well  as  cultivated  flowers,  regardless  of  the 
light,  are  closed  by  noonday. 

Florists  act  upon  the  sugges- 
tions of  Nature  in  the  manage- 
ment of  their  choice  greenhouse 
plants;  and  while  they  expose 
them  to  the  full  glare  of  the  sun 
in  order  to  produce  the  bloom, 
they  also  observe  that  its  conti- 
nued influence  tends  to  hasten 
decay,  by  ripening  £00  soon  the 
pollen  contained  in  the  anthers, 
and  consequently  hastening  the  fertilizing  of  the 
•  seed ;  and  as  the  flowers  only  last  in  perfection 
while  this  process  is  being  accomplished,  the  period 
of  blooming  may  be  greatly  prolonged  by  shading 
them  from  the  direct  rays  of  the  sun.  If,  then,  the 
half-opened  flower  be  kept  in  a  sort  of  twilight  by 
means  of  canvas  or  paper  shades,  the  pollen  does  not 
o 


34 


FLOWERS. 


Involucre,  Dogwood. 


ripen  so  fast,  and  the  flowers 
are  fair  and  fresh  for  many 
days,  and  even  weeks,  instead 
of  yielding  to  the  first  bright- 
ness of  the  season.  For  the 
moment  the  great  object  for 
which  the  flower  is  produced  is. 
accomplished,  which  is  the  per- 
fection of  the  seed,  it  imme- 
diately commences  to  wither, 
the  petals  become  flaccid,  the 
colors  lose  their  brightness  and 
beauty,  and  they  soon  either 
fold  themselves  within  the  calyx,  or  fall  unheeded  to 
the  ground.  Upon  the  fading  of  the  corolla,  the  seed 
commences  to  grow,  and  the  ovary  which  contains  it 
gradually  increases  until  the  seed  becomes  ripe,  when 
it  bursts  from  its  confinement,  and  falls  to  take  root 
in  the  earth,  and  become  itself  a  plant  like  that  which 
bore  it. 

There  are  many  curious  and  interesting  forms  no- 
ticed in  the  fruits  of  different  plants ;  some  of  them 
have  such  valuable  uses  assigned  them  by  man,  that 
without  them  life  would  be  robbed  of  many  of  its 
luxuries  and  comforts.  The  Apples  which  load  our 
orchard  trees,  the  Peaches  and  Pears  and  Plums  in 
almost  endless  variety,  the  Grapes  and  other  berries 
which  hang  in  clusters  from  our  vines,  the  nuts  which 
lie  scattered  beneath  our  forest  trees,  and  above  all  the 
grain  upon  which  we  depend  mainly  for  our  suste- 


FLOWERS. 


35 


nance,  are  all  familiar  forms  of  fruit.  How  wonder- 
fully does  Nature  provide,  not  only  for  the  repro 
duction  of  the  plant  by  this  means,  but  how  bounti- 
fully does  she  spread  around  us  these  her  choicest 
blessings,  which  are  so  singularly  adapted  to  our 
wants ! 

The  leaves  also  of  plants  present  many  varieties, 
both  in  their  shape  and  arrangement.  Sometimes 
they  are  placed  alternately  one  above  another  on  the 
stem;  sometimes  two  are  placed  opposite  each  other; 
and  often  we  see  them  in  what  is  called  a  whorl,  or 
radiating  from  the  same  point  like  the  spokes  of  a 
wheel.  They  also  occur  in  tufts  or  bunches  thickly 
scattered  on  the  stem  or  branches,  and  sometimes  but 
a  single  leaf  is  seen,  and  that  springs  immediately 
from  the  root,  and  is  termed  a  radical,  while  those 
which  grow  from  the  stem  are  called  cauline.  Some 
plants  have  both  cauline  and  radical  leaves,  and  some 
have  neither. 

The  following  cuts  will  illustrate  the  principal 
shapes  observable  in  leaves. 


Serrate. 


Palmate. 


Cordate. 


Ovate.        Lanceolate. 


These  may  be  separated  into  two  distinct  classes, 
the  simple  and  the  compound;  the  simple  being  those 


36 


FLOWERS. 


Sagtitate.  Sinuate.        Mucronate.  Digitate.  Crenate. 

which,  though  much  notched,  are  not  divided  into 
separate  parts.  The  Fuchsia  has  a  simple  leaf.  The 
compound  are  such  as  consist  of  a  number  of  small 
leaflets  arranged  upon  a  common  midrib,  as  is  seen  in 
the  Sweet  Pea. 


Emarginate.      Ternate.        Pinnatifid. 


Bipinnate. 


Pinnate. 


Leaves  -may  be  considered  as  the  most  important 
appendages  of  plants,  and  certainly  add  not  a  little  to 
their  beauty }  the  flower  would  lose  much  of  its  lustre 
were  it  not  in  contrast  with  the  pleasing  and  agree- 
able color  of  the  leaf. 


FLOWERS.  37 


CHAPTER   III. 

THE  AMERICAN  ALOE  —  THE  PASSION  FLOWER  —  ORCHIDS — 
TRUMPET  FLOWER — MORNING  GLORY — THE  ROSE— BLACK- 
BERRY—  DAISY  —  COMPOUND  FLOWERS. 

F  all  the  forms  in  which  flowers 
appear,  there  is  perhaps  none  more 
wonderful  than  that  of  the  Aloe.  Its 
peculiar  habits,  and  its  gigantic 
dimensions,  may  well  entitle  it  to 
the  name  of  king  of  flowers. 
It  is  commonly  known  by  the  name  of 
"  The  Century  Plant,"  from  the  fact  that  it 
was  formerly  supposed  to  bloom  only  once  in 
a  hundred  years.  This  is,  however,  an  error 
which  time  has  corrected,  as  many  specimens 
have  been  known  to  flower  in  conservatories  in  much 
shorter  periods ;  and  it  is  probable  that  in  its  native 
climate  it  occurs  at  an  early  age.  In  the  United  States 
the  Aloe  is  probably  the  best  known,  and  most  fre- 
quently kept  as  an  ornament  to  our  hot-houses.  It  is 
a  native  of  tropical  America,  where  it  is  a  plant  of 
great  utility  to  the  Indians. 

The  singular  fact  that  it  blooms  but  once,  and  that 
its  existence  terminates  with  the  decay  of  its  flowors, 
has  rendered  it  particularly  interesting ;  and  as  the 
4 


38 


FLOWERS. 


opportunity  of  witnessing  so  beautiful  a  spectacle  if 
of  rare  occurrence,  it  is  regarded  as  a  great  curiosity 

A  noble  speci 
men,  probably  86 
or  90  years  of  age, 
recently  bloomed 
in  Philadelphia 
About  the  middle 
of  the  summer  of 
1858,  the  stem 
made  its  appear- 
ance, and  in  six 
weeks'  time  it  had 
reached  the  height 
of  about  twenty 
feet,  being  seven 
inches  in  diameter 
at  the  base,  and 
crowned  with  sev- 
enteen fascicles  of 
greenish  yellow 
flowers,  number- 
ing in  all  about 

3000,  and  spreading  over  a  space  of  nearly  eighteen 
feet  in  circumference. 

In  Mexico,  the  West  Indies,  and  South  America, 
where  several  varieties  of  this  plant  are  found,  it  is 
often  cultivated  by  the  natives,  and  its  different  parts 
appropriated  to  useful  purposes.  It  may  frequently  be 
seen  planted  in  long  rows,  which  serve  as  hedges,  and 
form  an  impervious  barrier  both  to  man  and  beast. 


American  Aloe. 


FLOWERS.  39 

In  no  other  country,  perhaps,  is  the  Aloe  so  gene- 
rally serviceable  as  in  America. 

The  rope  bridges  of  Mexico,  so  often  named  as 
dangerous  to  the  traveller  unaccustomed  to  cross 
them,  are  formed  entirely  of  cords  made  of  the  fibrous 
parts  of  its  root.  These  bridges,  swung  over  some 
foaming  torrent,  have  pieces  of  the  bamboo  stem 
placed  at  small  intervals  across  the  ropes,  disclosing 
through  their  interstices  the  dashing  of  the  waters ; 
and  their  rude  structure,  oscillating  either  with  the 
wind  or  the  unsteady  footsteps  of  the  passengers, 
might  appal  the  heart  of  the  strongest  and  bravest 
strangers,  while  the  Indian  passes  lightly  and  fear- 
lessly over. 

The  leaves  of  the  Aloe,  when  baked,  form  an  ex- 
cellent article  of  food,  and  from  the  juice,  sugar  and 
medicines  are  prepared.  The  strong  flower  stems 
serve  as  beams  for  the  roofs  of  the  Indian  dwellings, 
and  the  leaves  supply  the  place  of  tiles. 

In  former  times  the  Aloe  was  extensively  cultivated 
for  the  manufacture  of  paper,  and  great  quantities 
were  evidently  used  in  the  time  of  the  Montezumas 
in  painting  hieroglyphics.  The  paper  produced  from 
this  plant  resembles  that  made  by  the  Egyptians 
from  the  papyrus.  The  ancient  Mexican  manuscripts, 
which  have  received  so  much  attention  from  the 
learned,  and  upon  whose  records  is  based  the  history 
of  that  injured  and  interesting  people,  were  painted 
chiefly  upon  paper  made  from  the  fibre  of  the  aloe. 
Many  of  these  "  picture  writings,"  as  they  have  been 
called,  are  still  preserved  at  Mexico. 


40  FLOWERS. 

From  the  juice  pressed  from  the  flowers  of  this 
plant,  the  natives  prepare  a  very  pleasant  and  refresh- 
ing beverage,  called  "pulque,"  of  which  they  are 
very  fond,  and  it  is  said  to  be  quite  nutritious  and 
wholesome,  although,  if  taken  in  large  quantities,  it 
produces  the  same  effect  as  brandy. 

The  drug  called  aloes  is  the  thickened  juice  of  a 
species  of  aloe,  which  grows  abundantly  near  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope.  It  is  procured  by  cutting  the 
leaves  in  pieces,  and  pressing  and  boiling  them ;  after 
which  the  juice  is  allowed  to  cool, when  it  becomes 
hard. 

How  few,  who .  look  upon  the  thick  spiny  leaves 
of  the  Aloes,  as  they  stand  in  our  green-houses,  ever 
reflect  upon  the  great  usefulness  of  this  plant  to  the 
natives  of  America ! 

Hanging  in  gay  festoons  about  the  venerable  trees 
of  the  American  forests,  the  various  kinds  of  Passion- 
Flowers  form  objects  of  splendor  which  arrest  the 
attention  of  the  traveller.  In  this,  their  native  soil, 
they  grow  to  much  greater  perfection  than  when  kept 
in  our  green-houses ;  and  their  large  starry  blossoms 
hang  down  in  profusion  among  the  branches,  or  clasp 
by  their  strong  tendrils  the  immense  trunks  of  the 
trees. 

There  are  upwards  of  forty  species  found  growing 
in  various  parts  of  the  world,  varying  greatly  in  their 
color  and  appearance.  Some  are  very  strong  and 
robust  plants,  sending  out  long  stout  stems  which  lay 
hold  of  anything  within  their  reach;  and  in  the 
summer  season,  when  their  growth  is  rank  and  rapid, 


FLOWERS.  41 

they  soon  envelope  the  trunks  of  the  trees  in  a  rich 
and  luxuriant  mantle.  These  have  mostly  large  blue, 
white,  or  crimson  flowers,  which  they  bear  in  great 
abundance.  The  greatest  number  of  varieties  may 
probably  be  found  in  South  America  and  the  West 
Indies.  One  or  two  species  grow  in  the  United  States, 
and  many  in  Africa  and  the  adjacent  islands. 

These  flowers  are  of  short  continuance,  generally 
lasting  but  one  day,  opening  a  little  before  noon,  and 
closing  in  the  evening. 

The  name  of  Passion-Flower  was  given  to  it  by  the 
Spaniards,  whose  attention  was  attracted  by  the  beau- 
tiful and  showy  appearance  made  by  the  vines  in  the 
forests  of  Mexico  and  South  America;  and  fancy 
pictured  to  them  in  the  various  parts  of  the  flower  a 
resemblance  to  the  crown  of  thorns,  and  the  other 
signs  of  our  Saviour's  passion.  Alluding  to  this,  the 
poet  Barton  says :  — 

"  We  soar  to  heaven ;  and  to  outlive 

Our  life's  contracted  span, 

Unto  the  glorious  stars  we  give 

The  names  of  mortal  man. 

Then  may  not  one  poor  floweret's  bloom 

The  holier  memory  share 
Of  Him  who,  to  avert  our  doom, 

Vouchsafed  our  sins  to  bear? 

God  dwelleth  not  in  temples  reared 

By  work  of  human  hands; 
Yet  shrines  august,  by  man  revered, 

Are  found  in  Christian  lands. 
4* 


42  FLOWERS. 

And  may  not  e'en  a  simple  flower 

Proclaim  his  glorious  praise, 
Whose  fiat  only,  had  the  power, 

Its  form  from  earth  to  raise  ? 

Then  freely  let  the  blossom  ope 

Its  beauties  —  to  recall 
A  scene  which  bids  the  humble  hope 

In  Him  who  died  for  all ! " 

In  the  same  coun- 
tries where  the  Night- 
Blooming  Cereus  and 
the  Passion  -  Flower 
wreathe  their  bright 
blossoms  among  the 
forest  -  trees,  may  be 
seen  many  other  cu- 
rious and  interesting 
plants ;  among  them 
is  a  tribe  known  as 
Orchises  or  Orchids; 
these,  like  the  Cereus, 
are  often  found  grow- 
ing upon  the  trunks 
and  branches,  and 
Butterfly  Orchis.  sometimes  in  such 

quantities,  as  almost  to  deprive  the  tree  of  the  nou- 
rishing sap  intended  for  its  support.  If  we  should 
attempt  to  describe  the  multiplied  forms  and  color- 
ings of  these  air-plants,  it  would  cost  the  labor  of  a 
lifetime.  They  mostly  consist  of  rough  unsightly 
bulbs,  which,  for  about  one-half  the  year,  lie  appa- 


FLOWERS.  48 

rently  lifeless,  adhering  by  their  tough  fibrous  roots 
to  the  bark ;  but  no  sooner  do  the  clouds  of  the  rainy 
season  empty  their  life-giving  virtues  upon  the  earth, 
than  they  send  out  their  leaves  in  thick  tufts,  which, 
being  often  long  and  grass-like,  have  a  graceful  ap- 
pearance. After  these  have  arrived  at  their  full 
perfection,  the  flower-stems  shoot  forth,  and  are  some- 
times several  feet  in  length,  loaded  with  a  profusion 
of  gay  flowers,  frequently  very  large,  and  of  almost 
every  imaginable  shape  and  color.  Some  of  them 
bear  a  close  resemblance  to  living  objects.  Thus,  in 
the  Butterfly  Orchis,  the  likeness  is  so  striking,  that 
one  unacquainted  with  the  plant  would  suppose  that 
a  large  yellow  butterfly  had  chanced  to  light  upon  it. 

Orchises  are  divided  into  two  kinds,  terrestrials 
or  such  as  grow  upon  the  ground,  and  Epiphytes,  or 
those  which  hang  from  the  trees.  Many  yery  beau- 
tiful terrestrial  Orchids  are  to  be  found  in  our  own 
woods  and  meadows.  But  the  most  curious  and  re- 
markable species  are  exotics,  and  require  peculiar 
treatment  to  make  them  flower.  The  roots  are  tied 
to  a  rough  stick  of  wood,  with  the  bark  upon  it,  and 
are  suspended  from  the  roof  of  the  green-house; 
others  are  planted  in  pots  filled  with  stones  and  rotten 
wood.  The  air  in  the  house  being  kept  constantly 
moist,  the  plants  thrive  and  produce  their  blossoms 
in  great  perfection. 

Another  very  attractive  and  showy  species  of  plants 
is  the  Bignonia,  or  Trumpet-Flower;  of  this,  many 
varieties  abound  in  the  same  localities  as  the  Orchids, 
and  may  often  be  seen  weaving  a  tangled  web  with 


44  FLOWERS. 

their  long  twining  stems  as  they  clamber  over  the 
trees.  The  great  abundance  of  these  and  other  vines 
in  the  tropical  forests,  so  fills  up  the  recesses  between 
the  undergrowth,  as  to  render  them  almost  impene- 
trable, and  travellers  often  speak  of  being  compelled 
to  cut  their  way  through  with  axes.  These  tangled 
brakes  are  the  lodging- places  of  thousands  of  beauti- 
ful birds,  which  build  their  nests  and  rear  their  young 
without  fear  of  intrusion.  Here  the  jewelled  breast 
of  the  Humming-Bird  is  seen  glittering  in  the  light, 
as  it  flits  from  flower  to  flower  and  gently  dips  its 
tiny  bill  into  their  sweet  ambrosial  cups ;  and  here 
may  be  heard  the  wild  screams  of  flocks  of  gay  plu- 
maged  Parrots,  intermingled  with  the  no  less  clamor- 
ous chattering  of  troops  of  monkeys. 

On  the  borders  of  these  forests  may  also  be  found 
in  great  profusion,  many  elegant  varieties  of  Convol- 
vulus or  Morning-Glories,  plants  with  which  most 
persons  are  familiar.  Of  all  the  flowers  with 
which  Nature  with  a  lavish  hand  adorns  our  gardens, 
there  is  perhaps  none  more  showy  or  more  fleeting. 
Their  delicately  painted  petals,  their  luxuriant  growth, 
the  graceful  drooping  of  their  long  twining  branches, 
and,  above  all,  the  gorgeous  array  of  large  showy 
blossoms,  which  welcome  with  their  smiles  the  earliest 
streaks  of  dawn,  all  conspire  to  render  them,  as  they 
truly  are,  the  glory  of  the  morning.  But  how  in- 
structive is  the  lesson  conveyed  by  the  language  of 
Scripture,  which  is  so  applicable  to  this  beautiful 
plant :  —  "  For  the  sun  is  no  sooner  risen  with  a  burn- 


FLOWERS.  45 

ing  heat,  than  the  flower  thereof  falleth,  and  the  grace 
of  the  fashion  of  it  perisheth." 

The  common  sweet  potato  is  a  species  of  Convol- 
vulus, and  was  originally  brought  from  South  Ame- 
rica. Its  blossoms  are  bright  purple,  but  are  so 
hidden  beneath  the  leaves,  as  to  attract  but  little 
attention. 

Most  varieties  of  Convolvulus,  or  Ipomsea,  are  an- 
nuals, and  are  grown  from  seed,  but  there  are  some 
whose  roots  are  perennial,  and  in  their  native  climates 
they  are  constantly  clothed  with  verdure.  One  of 
these,  which,  in  this  latitude,  requires  the  protection 
of  the  green-house  during  the  winter,  extends  its 
branches  to  a  great  length,  sometimes  forty  feet  in 
one  season,  and  over  four  hundred  flowers  have  been 
counted  at  one  time  upon  a  single  vine,  each  flower 
being  four  inches  in  diameter. 

But  foremost  among  the  flowers  of  the  garden 
stands  the  rose,  a  general  favorite  on  account  of  its 
soft  and  delicate  colorings,  and  its  delightful  fragrance. 

The  rose  was  undoubtedly  well  known,  and  its 
qualities  appreciated,  at  a  very  early  period.  In  the 
Scriptures,  it  is  alluded  to,  where  the  idea  of  great 
beauty  and  excellence  is  intended  to  be  conveyed. 
Solomon,  in  Canticles,  speaks  of  the  "  Rose  of  Sha- 
ron;" and  the  prophet  Isaiah,  in  ch.  xxxv.  1,  thus 
makes  use  of  it  in  a  beautiful  comparison :  "  The 
wilderness  and  the  solitary  place  shall  be  glad  for 
them,  and  the  desert  shall  rejoice  and  blossom  as  the 
Jose." 

We  are  greatly  indebted  to  cultivation  for  the  per- 


40  FLOWERS. 

fection  in  which  the  many  beautiful  varieties  of  this 
lovely  flower  now  exist.  Most  of  our  finest  roses  were 
originally  brought  from  the  East,  where  they  are 
raised  in  large  quantities  as  an  article  of  commerce. 
Ghazipore  may  be  called  the  rose-bed  of  India.  In 
the  spring  of  the  year,  an  extent  of  miles  around  the 
town  presents  to  the  eye  a  continued  garden  of  roses. 
The  sight  is  perfectly  dazzling,  the  whole  surface  of 
the  ground,  as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach,  being  clothed 
with  the  same  beautiful  carpet  of  mingled  green  and 
red ;  while  the  air  is  loaded  with  the  sweetest  odors, 
which  are  wafted  far  across  the  river  Ganges.  The 
flower  is  cultivated  thus  extensively  for  the  manufac- 
ture of  rose-water. 

There  is  much  interest  connected  with  the  cultiva- 
tion of  this  flower ;  the  almost  indefinite  number  of 
sorts,  with  hues  varying  from  the  most  delicate  pink 
to  the  deepest  crimson,  and  from  the  purest  white  to 
a  brilliant  yellow,  renders  it  a  peculiarly  fit  object  to 
adorn  our  conservatories  or  our  flower-gardens.  And 
while  its  blossoms  are  proverbially  frail,  and  continue 
at  most  but  a  few  days,  still  its  rapid  and  constant 
succession  of  fresh  opening  buds  fill  up  the  places  of 
those  which  have  fallen  beneath  the  rays  of  the  sun. 

"  Fairest  flower,  the  pride  of  spring, 
Blooming,  beauteous,  fading  thing 
'Tis  as  yesterday,  when  first 
Forth  thy  blushing  beauties  burst, 
And  I  marked  thy  bosom  swell, 
And  I  caught  thy  balmy  smell, 
Fondly  hoping  soon  to  see 
All  thy  full-blown  symmetry: 


FLOWERS.  47 

But  I  came  —  and  lo  !  around 
Sadly  strewn  upon  the  ground, 
Lovely,  livid  leaves  I  see  — 
Oh!  can  these  be  all  of  thee? 
I  could  weep,  for  so  I've  known 
Many  a  vivid  vision  flown ; 
Many  a  hope  that  found  its  tomb 
Just  when  bursting  into  bloom ; 
Many  a  friend  —  Ah!  why  proceed? 
See  afresh  my  bosom  bleed  — 
Rather  turn  my  thoughts  on  high, 
Hopes  there  are  which  cannot  die; 
Yes,  my  Saviour,  thou  canst  give 
Joys  that  will  not  thus  deceive; 
Eden's  roses  never  fade, 
Eden's  prospects  have  no  shade." 

There  are  some  beautiful  kinds  of  roses  found  wild 
in  almost  every  part  of  the  country ;  when  unaltered 
by  culture  they  are  generally  single,  and  have  but 
five  petals,  with  a  great  profusion  of  stamens,  which 
fill  up  the  space  between  the  pistil  and  corolla.  In 
the  cultivated  varieties,  the  number  of  the  petals  is 
greatly  increased,  while  the  stamens  are  not  so 
numerous.  The  common  blackberry  belongs  to  the 
same  class  of  plants  as  the  rose,  and  if  the  peculiar 
formation  of  the  flower  and  leaf  be  compared  with 
that  of  the  wild-brier  or  rose,  the  resemblance  will 
at  once  be  seen. 

The  daisy  is  so  well  known  to  all,  that  any  descrip- 
tion of  it  would  seem  useless ;  but,  as  there  are  several 
different  plants  known  by  that  name,  it  may  be  well 
to  speak  of  them.  The  bright  little  flower  that  is  so 
welcome  in  the  spring,  is  the  common  daisy  of  Eu- 


43  FLOWERS. 

rope ;  and  it  is  this  lovely  plant  that  has  formed  the 
theme  of  many  a  poet's  song.  Wordsworth's  three 
beautiful  poems  are  too  familiar  to  be  quoted.  Spen- 
ser sang  of  the  "  little  daisie  that  at  evening  closes ;" 
while  Chaucer  and  Ben  Jonson  each  had  a  good 
word  for  the  bright  "  day's  eye." 

What  is  commonly  called  the  daisy  in  this  country 
is  a  species  of  Chrysanthemum :  it  is  also  of  foreign 
origin,  and  is  one  of  those  plants  whose  beauty  hardly 
repays  for  the  trouble  it  gives  the  farmer,  as  it  in- 
creases so  rapidly,  both  by  its  roots  and  seed,  that 
where  it  once  obtains  a  footing,  it  soon  spreads  over 
whole  fields,  thus  preventing  the  growth  of  that  which 
is  more  valuable.  It  is  considered  by  the  Danes  to 
be  so  injurious  to  the  pasture,  that  one  of  the  laws 
of  Denmark  compels  the  farmers  on  whose  land  it 
appears,  to  use  every  effort  to  eradicate  it. 

There  is  also  another  variety  of  plants  to  which 
the  name  of  Michaelmas  daisy  has  been  applied  in 
England;  they  consist  of  various  kinds  of  asters, 
some  of  which  have  been  introduced  there  from 
America  and  China.  These  are  among  the  last 
flowers  of  summer,  even  blooming  until  late  in  the 
autumn.  Some  of  them  are  possessed  of  great  beauty ; 
the  well-known  China  Aster,  or  Queen  Marguerite,  is 
among  their  number. 

The  flowers  of  the  daisies  are  what  are  termed 
compound,  or  similar  to  those  of  the  dog- wood.  The 
beautiful  white,  blue,  or  rose-tinted  petals,  which  are 
so  conspicuous,  are  the  rays  of  the  involucre,  and  it 
is  in  the  centre  of  these  where  the  compact  mass  of 


FLOWERS.  49 

minute  flowers  lies;  so  that  what 'is  commonly  re- 
garded as  one,  consists  sometimes  of  hundreds  of 
blossoms.  Each  of  these  being  a  complete  flower, 
with  its  corolla,  pistil,  stamens  and  seed-vessel,  as 
may  readily  be  seen  under  the  microscope. 

Many  beautiful  compound  flowers  ornament  our 
gardens  during  the  summer  and  autumn.  The  stately 
sun-flower,  which  grows  to  an  immense  size  in  the 
woods  and  plains  of  Mexico,  and  excited  the  astonish- 
ment  of  the  Spanish  conquerors;  the  bright  mari- 
golds, some  of  which  bloom  in  almost  every  month 
of  the  year;  the  dahlias  and  chrysanthemums,  with 
those  dear  friends  the  daisies,  which  welcome  the 
spring,  and  around  whose  quaint  little  name  so  many 
associations  cluster. 

« Not  worlds  on  worlds,  in  phalanx  deep, 

Need  we  to  prove  a  God  is  here; 
The  daisy,  fresh  from  Nature's  sleep, 
Tells  of  his  hand  in  lines  as  clear. 

For  who  but  He  who  arched  the  skies 
And  pours  the  day-spring's  living  flood, 

Wondrous  alike  in  alt  he  tries, 

Could  raise  the  daisy's  purple  bud; 

Mould  its  green  cup,  its  wiry  stem, 

Its  fringed  border  nicely  spin, 
And  cut  the  gold-embossed  gem 

That,  set  in  silver,  gleams  within; 

And  fling  it,  unrestrained  and  free, 
O'er  hill  and  dale,  and  desert  sod, 

That  man,  where'er  he  walks,  may  see 
In  every  step  the  hand  of  God?" 
5  if 


50  LILIES. 


CHAPTER   IY. 

LILIES — VICTORIA  REGIA  :  ITS  DISCOVERY — LOTUS  OF  EGYPT- 
LILIES  MENTIONED  IN  SCRIPTURE — TULIPS — CALLA  LILY — 
JACOBEAN  LILY. 

"  Observe  the  rising  lily's  snowy  grace, 
Observe  the  various  vegetable  race  ; 
They  neither  toil,  nor  spin,  but  careless  grow, 
Yet  see,  how  warm"  they  blush  !  how  bright  they  glow! 
What  regal  vestments  can  with  them  compare ! 
What  king  so  shining !  or  what  queen  so  fair ! 
If  ceaseless  thus  the  fowls  of  heaven  He  feeds, 
If  o'er  the  earth  such  lucid  robes  He  spreads ; 
Will  He  not  care  for  you,  ye  faithless,  say? 
Is  He  unwise  ?  or,  are  ye  less  than  they  ?  " 

OW  many  are  the  charms  which 
hang  around  this  lovely  and  beau- 
tiful flower,  of  which  it  has  been 
said  by  the  great  Redeemer,  that 
"  Solomon,  in  all  his  glory,  was 
not  arrayed  like  one  of  these ! " 

As  an  emblem  of  purity,  some 
species  are  peculiarly  appropriate,  their 
snow-white  petals  being  unsullied  by  a  stain; 
while  others  are  decked  in  all  the  rich  and 
glowing  colors  of  the  rainbow. 


LILIES.  51 

The  principal  mention  of  the  Lily  in  Scripture,  is 
in  Canticles,  where  Solomon  frequently  uses  it  as 
conveying  the  impression  of  great  beauty  and  love- 
liness. 

There  are  many  flowers  to  which  the  name  of  Lily  is 
applied,  between  some  of  which  there  seems  to  be 
but  little  resemblance.  Among  these,  perhaps  there 
is.  none  more  beautiful,  and  certainly  none  more  won- 
derful, than  the  Victoria  Regia,  or  the  Great  Water 
Lily.  No  description  of  this  remarkable  plant  can 
convey  to  the  reader  any  adequate  idea  of  its  singu- 
lar beauty.  It' stands  alone  among  its  tribe  as  Queen 
of  the  Waters,  nothing  having  yet  been  discovered 
which  can  compare  with  it.  (See  Frontispiece.) 

This  plant,  although  known  to  naturalists  as  early 
as  1822,  was  not  introduced  into  England  until  about 
the  year  1846,  when  seeds  were  taken  thither  by 
Thomas  Bridges,  a  collector  of  curious  plants  in  South 
America.  We  extract  the  following  narrative  from 
the  published  account  of  his  discovery. 

"During  my  stay  at  the  Indian  town  of  Santa 
Ana,  in  the  province  of  Moxos,  republic  of  Bolivia, 
during  the  summer  of  1845,  I  made  daily  shooting 
excursions  in  the  vicinity.  In  one  of  these  I  had 
the  good  fortune,  whilst  riding  along  the  woody  banks 
of  the  river  Yacuma,  one  of  the  tributary  rivers  of 
the  Mamore,  to  come  suddenly  on  a  beautiful  pond, 
or  rather  small  lake,  embosomed  in  the  forest,  where, 
to  my  delight  and  astonishment,  I  discovered  for  the 
first  time,  the  Queen  of  Aquatics,  the  Victoria  Regia ! 
There  were  at  least  fifty  flowers  in  view,  and  Belzoni 


52  LILIES. 

could  not  have  felt  more  rapture  at  his  Egyptian  dis- 
coveries,- than  I  did  in  beholding  the  beautiful  and 
novel  sight  before  me,  such  as  it  has  fallen  to  the  lot 
of  few  Englishmen  to  witness.  Fain  would  I  have 
plunged  into  the  lake  to  have  procured  specimens  of 
the  magnificent  flowers  and  leaves;  but  knowing  that 
these  waters  abounded  in  alligators,  I  was  deterred 
from  doing  so  by  the  advice  of  my  guide,  and  my 
own  experience  of  similar  places. 

"  I  now  turned  over  in  my  thoughts  how  and  in 
what  way  flowers  and  leaves  might  be  obtained ;  and 
I  clearly  saw  that  a  canoe  was  necessary,  and  there- 
fore returned  promptly  to  the  town,  and  communi- 
cated my  discovery  and  wants  to  the  Con'ejidor  or 
Governor,  who  with  much  kindness  immediately  or- 
dered the  Cacique  to  send  Indians  with  a  yoke  of 
oxen  for  the  purpose  of  drawing  a  canoe  from  the 
river  Yacuma  to  the  lake.  Being  apprised  that  the 
canoe  was  in  readiness,  I  returned  in  the  afternoon, 
with  several  Indians  to  assist  in  carrying  home  the 
expected  prize  of  leaves  and  flowers.  The  canoe 
being  very  small,  only  three  persons  could  embark ; 
myself  in  the  middle,  and  an  Indian  in  the  bows  and 
stern.  In  this  tottering  little  bark  we  rowed  amongst 
magnificent  leaves  and  flowers,  crushing  unavoidably 
some,  and  selecting  only  such  as  pleased  me.  The 
leaves  being  so  enormous,  I  could  find  room  in  the 
canoe  but  for  two,  one  before  me  and  one  behind; 
owing  to  their  being  very  fragile,  even  in  the  green 
state,  care  was  necessary  to  transport  them;  and  thus 
we  had  to  make  several  trips  in  the  canoe  before  I 


LILIES.  53 

obtained  the  number  required.  Having  loaded  my- 
self with  leaves,  flowers,  and  ripe  seed-vessels,  I  next 
mused  how  they  were  to  be  conveyed  in  safety;  and 
determined  at  length  upon  suspending  them  on  long 
poles  with  small  cords,  tied  to  the  stalks  of  the  leaves 
and  flowers.  Two  Indians,  each  taking  on  his  shoul- 
der an  end  of  the  pole,  carried  them  into  the  town ; 
the  poor  creatures  wondering  all  the  while  what 
could  induce  me  to  be  at  so  much  trouble  to  get  at 
flowers,  and  for  what  purpose  I  destined  them  now 
they  were  in  my  possession." 

The  leaves  of  this  plant  are  round,  and  vary  con- 
siderably in  size,  the  largest  being  about  six  feet  in 
diameter.  They  float  on  the  surface  of  the  water, 
are  of  a  light  green  color  above,  and  bright  purple 
below.  The  margins  of  the  leaves  are  turned  up- 
wards, giving  them  the  appearance  of  floating  dishes. 
The  plant  grows  in  four  to  six  feet  of  water,  producing 
leaves  and  flowers  which  rapidly  decay  and  give  place 
to  others.  From  each  plant  there  are  seldom  more 
than  four  or  five  leaves  on  the  surface;  but  even 
these,  in  parts  of  the  lakes  where  they  grow  most 
abundantly,  almost  cover  the  surface  of  the  water, 
one  leaf  touching  the  other.  The  blossoms  rise  six 
and  eight  inches  above  the  surface,  expanding  first 
in  the  evening,  when  they  are  pure  white,  changing 
finally  to  a  beautiful  pink  or  rose  color ;  and  several 
may  be  seen  at  the  same  time,  partaking  of  every 
tinge  between  the  two.  The  largest  flowers  measure 
about  ten  or  twelve  inches  in  diameter. 

Another  very  interesting  and  beautiful  plant,  simi- 
5* 


54  LILIES. 

lar  to  the  above,  although  much  less  in  size,  is  the 
Lotus,  or  the  famed  Egyptian  Water  Lily,  which  was 
formerly  adored  as  a  deity  by  the  idolatrous  inhabit- 
ants of  that  country.  It  also  grows  in  the  river  Gan- 
ges as  well  as  the  Nile,  and  is  held  in  the  same  vene- 

O  ' 

ration  by  the  natives  of  Hindostan  and  Nepal.  One 
of  the  latter,  upon  entering  the  study  of  Sir  "William 
Jones,  prostrated  himself  before  some  specimens 
which  happened  to  lie  there  for  examination.  The 
Egyptians  prepare  a  kind  of  bread  from  its  seeds, 
and  sometimes  feed  upon  its  tuberous  roots. 


Pond  Lily. 

The  Lotus  resembles  very  closely  our  own  White 
Pond  Lily,  except  that  the  flowers  and  leaves,  instead 
of  resting  upon  the  surface  of  the  water,  rise  some 
distance  above  it. 

Some  authors  believe  the  Lotus  to  be  the  Lily  of 
the  Old  Testament,  as  very  frequently,  in  Canticles, 
Solomon  speaks  of  his  beloved  "  feeding  among 
lilies;"  and  the  root,  stalks,  and  seeds  being  common 
articles  of  Egyptian  diet,  would  naturally  lead  to  such 
a  conclusion,  especially  as  it  is  supposed  that  the 


LILIES. 


55 


White  Lily. 


Song  of  Solomon  was  written  on  the  occasion  of  his 
marriage  with  an  Egyptian  princess. 

The  great  beauty  of  the  com- 
mon White  Lily  of  our  gardens, 
would  naturally  suggest  that  it 
was  the  one  so  often  spoken  of  in 
Scripture  -}  but  as  it  is  not  certain 
that  this  was  a  native  flower  in 
Palestine,  it  seems  more  probable 
that  the  plant  often  referred  to  is, 
as  Dr.  Kitto  believes,  the  Yellow 
Amaryllis,  which  covers  large 
tracts  of  country  in  the  Holy 
Land,  and  blooms  until  so  late 
in  the  year,  as  to  be  almost  in  its 
prime  when  most  other  plants 
have  yielded  to  the  influence  of  the  cold. 

The  many -colored  Tulip,  whose  gorgeous  tints 
would  outshine  even  the  robes  of  eastern  royalty,  has 
also  been  supposed  by  some  to  be  the  subject  of  our 
Saviour's  allusion  when  he  so  beautifully  and  so  ten- 
derly encouraged  the  drooping  faith  of  his  disciples. 
The  beauty  of  the  Tulips  in  the  plains  of  Sharon,  as 
well  as  at  Joppa,  has  frequently  attracted  the  notice 
of  British  travellers ;  and  even  the  gayety  and  bril- 
liancy of  a  bed  of  Tulips  in  our  own  gardens,  is  an 
unfailing  source  of  admiration. 

Another  kind  of  Lily  which  adorns  our  green- 
houses and  gardens  early  in  the  Spring,  is  the  Calla. 
This  plant  is  a  native  of  Africa,  and  frequents  low, 
wet  grounds,  where  its  tall  leaves  and  flower-stalks 


56  LILIES. 

stand  two  and  three  feet  above  the  water,  the  latter 
bearing  a  long  spike  of  flowers,  surrounded  by  one 
beautiful  broad  petal  or  sheath,  of  the  purest  white , 
this  sheath  is  termed  a  spadix,  and  forms  a  good 
example  of  a  very  singular  mode  of  flowering. 

The  Jacobean  Lily  is  a  species  of  Amaryllis,  of  a 
deep  crimson  or  almost  mahogany  color,  and  flowers 
also  in  the  Spring.  There  is  a  very  curious  process 
by  which  the  seed  becomes  fertilized  in  this  plant. 
In  the  morning  a  drop  of  very  clear  liquid  issues 
from  the  stigma;  this  liquid  receives  the  pollen  which 
falls  from  the  anthers,  and  soon  becomes  thick  and 
turbid,  and  about  noon  is  so  heavy  as  to  be  almost 
ready  to  drop,  when  it  is  again  absorbed,  carrying 
with  it  the  fertilizing  principle  of  the  stamens. 

These  plants,  though  all  known  by  the  familiar 
name  of  Lilies,  belong  to  entirely  different  families ; 
the  true  Lilies  embracing  only  those  which  are  not 
aquatics. 

THE  CHILD  AND  THE  LILY. 

I  saw,  one  morn,  a  little  maid 

With  locks  of  golden  hair, 
Pluck  from  its  stem  beneath  the  shade 

A  lily  bright  and  fair. 
And  with  a  heart  all  full  of  glee, 

"Oh!  dear  mother!"  she  cried, 
*  "Look  what  a  sweet  charm  this  will  be 

To  set  here  by  my  side; 
For  now  I'll  smell  its  soft  perfume, 

Its  graceful  form  will  view; 
And  gaze  upon  its  placid  bloom, 

All  decked  with  shining  dew. 


LILIES.  57 

Oh!  can  it  be  that  here  below, 

All  o'er  the  verdant  plain, 
This  fair  and  beauteous  flower  should  grow 

And  bud,  and  bloom,  in  vain? 
It  looks  so  sweet,  and  pure,  and  good, 

Within  its  robes  of  white, 
It  makes  me  wish  that  if  I  could, 

I  too  might  look  so  bright." 

"  Oh !  then,  my  child,  if  thou  wouldst  be," 

The  mother  soft  replied, 
"Like  that  fair  flower  from  spot  so  free, 

Or  taint  of  earthly  pride, 
Lift  up  thy  heart  to  God  above, 

Who  reigns  supreme  on  high  ; 
And  ask,  that  in  His  matchless  love 

He'd  deign  to  hear  thy  cry; 
And  from  thy  soul  to  wash  away 

Each  foul  and  guilty  stain, 
And  on  thy  spirit  shed  a  ray 

Of  life  and  peace  again. 
Ask  that  thus  washed  thy  robes  may  be. 

Pure  as  the  lilies  fair; 
That  thou,  from  sin  forever  free, 

Christ's  spotless  robe  may  wear. 
And  let  thy  youthful  heart  be  riven 

From  this  vile  world  away; 
And  all  thy  hopes  be  fixed  on  heaven, 

The  realms  of  endless  day; 
For  there,  within  His  fold  of  rest, 

Amid  unfading  light, 
The  ransomed  soul,  forever  blest, 

Shall  walk  with  Him  in  white.' 


58  THE    AQUARIUM. 


CHAPTER  V. 

SIMILARITY   BETWEEN   THE    FUNCTIONS    OF   PLANTS    AND    ANI- 
MALS  THE    AQUARIUM PRINCIPLES    UPON    WHICH    IT    IS 

SUSTAINED — EARLY  EXPERIMENTS  WITH    THE    AQUARIUM 

PLANTS    MOST    SUITABLE    FOR    THE    PURPOSE — SEA    WEEDS, 
MOULD,    LICHENS,    MOSSES,    FERNS. 

is  a  very  curious  fact  that  in  many  of 
the  functions  of  plants,  we  observe  a 
close  resemblance  to  those  witnessed  in 
animal  life ;  thus,  the  circulation  of  the 
sap,  which  will  be  more  fully  described 
hereafter,  is  in  effect  precisely  similar 
to  the  circulation  of  the  blood  in  the  human 
body,  vessels  being  provided  in  each,  which 
are  peculiarly  adapted  to  carrying  the  fluids 
which  support  their  existence  to  the  parts 
where  they  are  needed.  Respiration  is  also  a  point 
in  which  great  similarity  exists.  Leaves  are  the 
breathing  organs  of  plants ;  through  them  the  sap  is 
brought  into  contact  with  the  air,  where  it  absorbs 
that  which  is  necessary  for  its  purification.  In  this 
operation  we  shall  notice  a  wonderful  provision  by 
which  nature  seeks  to  preserve  a  proper  balance  be- 
tween the  requirements  of  the  animal  and  vegetable 
world.  In  the  purification  of  the  blood,  the  air  taken 


THE    AQUARIUM. 


59 


The  Aquarium. 

into  the  lungs  is  deprived  of  a  large  amount  of  oxy- 
gen gas,  while  at  the  same  time  it  becomes  charged 
with  carbonic  acid  gas,  which  is  incapable  of  support- 
ing animal  life.  This  noxious  principle  is  absorbed 
by  the  leaves  of  plants,  where  it  appears  to  undergo 
decomposition;  the  carbon  being  retained  for  the  use 
of  the  plant,  and  the  oxygen  liberated  to  assist  in 
restoring  the  atmosphere  to  its  original  purity.  This 


60  THE    AQUARIUM. 

action  takes  place  only  under  the  influence  of  light, 
as  during  the  night  the  contrary  occurs,  the  leaves 
giving  out  carbon  and  absorbing  oxygen,  although  in 
very  small  quantities  compared  with  what  is  emitted 
during  the  daytime. 

If  a  bunch  of  leaves  be  introduced  into  a  jar  of 
air  which  has  been  deprived  of  its  vitality  by  means 
of  animal  respiration,  and  the  jar  exposed  to  the  rays 
of  the  sun,  the  air  will,  in  a  few  hours,  again  become 
pure  and  wholesome. 

The  same  principle  holds  good  in  aquatic  plants, 
many  of  them  having  the  power  of  keeping  the  water 
in  which  they  grow  from  becoming  impure  or  foul. 

In  ponds  where  there  is  no  regular  supply  of  fresh 
water  from  running  streams,  it  has  been  noticed  that, 
during  the  winter,  when  the  plants  are  dead,  the  fish 
frequently  come  to  the  surface  to  breathe,  while  in 
the  summer,  when  the  plants  are  growing,  the  vitality 
of  the  water  is  preserved. 

It  is  upon  this  wonderful  law  of  Nature  that  the 
aquarium,  that  endless  source  of  amusement  and  in- 
struction, is  based;  and  although  it  is  as  much 
intended  to  illustrate  the  functions  of  animal  as  of 
vegetable  life,  perhaps  the  following  account,  taken 
from  a  beautiful  work,  entitled  "  Ocean  and  Rivei 
Gardens,"  descriptive  of  the  principles  upon  which 
it  is  conducted,  may  be  interesting  to  the  reader. 

"  The  successful  treatment  of  aquatic  plants  and 
animals,  in  the  confined  space  of  a  glass  aquarium, 
depends  entirely  upon  the  discovery  that  there  exists 
in  Nature  a  self-adjusting  balance  between  the  supply 


THE    AQUARIUM.  6) 

of  oxygen  created  in  water,  and  the  quantity  con- 
sumed by  aquatic  animals.  And  it  became  equally 
necessary  to  know  the  means  by  which  that  supply 
was  continually  generated.  Without  the  knowledge 
of  these  facts,  and  the  principles  by  which  they  are 
regulated,  it  would  have  been  impossible  to  establish 
euch  a  marine  aquarium  as  we  may  now  any  day 
examine  in  the  Regent's  Park  (London) ;  where,  in 
a  few  glass  tanks,  of  very  moderate  size,  we  may  see 
examples  of  some  of  the  most  curious  forms  of  animal 
and  vegetable  life  peculiar  to  the  depths  of  the  ocean ; 
forms  so  singular,  that  their  first  exhibition  created  a 
sense  of  wonder  little  less  intense  than  that  which 
must  have  been  caused,  long  years  ago,  by  the  first 
public  display  of  the  mountain  form  of  the  Elephant 
to  the  people  of  cold  northern  countries. 

"  Those  principles,  the  knowledge  of  which  was 
requisite  to  enable  us  thus  to  view  the  wonders  of 
the  Ocean  in  their  living  state  in  the  aquarium,  were 
not  mastered  at  once,  or  by  one  man,  or  in  one  gene- 
ration. The  nature  of  certain  relations  between 
animal  and  vegetable  life,  upon  which  they  are 
founded,  was  first  advanced  by  Priestley,  towards  the 
close  of  the  last  century,  who  proved  that  plants  give 
forth  the  oxygen  necessary  to  animal  life. 

"  But  it  was  not  till  the  year  1833,  that  Professor 
Daubeny  communicated  to  the  British  Association  at 
Cambridge,  a  paper  concerning  some  new  researches 
prosecuted  in  the  same  direction ;  while  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1850,  R.  Warrington  communicated  to  the 
Chemical  Society  a  series  of  observations  on  the 
6 


62  THE    AQUARIUM. 

adjustment  of  certain  relations  between  the  animal 
and  vegetable  kingdoms,  very  important  to  our  pre- 
sent purpose.  Two  small  gold-fish  were  placed  in  a 
glass  receiver,  a  small  plant  of  Valisneria  Spiralis 
being  planted  at  the  same  time  in  some  earth,  be- 
neath a  layer  of  sand  in  the  same  vessel.  All  went 
on  well  by  this  arrangement,  without  any  necessity 
for  changing  the  water ;  the  oxygen  given  off  by  the 
plant  proving  itself  sufficient  for  the  supply  of  its 
animal  co-tenants,  and  the  water  therefore  remaining 
clean  and  pure,  until  some  decayed  leaves  of  the 
valisneria  caused  turbidity.  To  remedy  this  evil,  he 
brought  to  bear  the  results  of  previous  observations 
on  water  in  natural  ponds  under  analogous  circum- 
stances ',  and,  guided  by  these  observations  and  their 
results,  he  placed  a  few  common  pond-snails  in  the 
vessel  containing  his  gold-fish  and  plant  of  valisneria. 

"  The  new  inmates,  immediately  upon  their  intro- 
duction, began  to  feed  greedily  upon  the  decaying 
vegetable  matter,  and  all  was  quickly  restored  to  a 
healthy  state.  They  proved,  indeed,  of  still  further 
advantage,  for  the  masses  of  eggs  which  they  depo- 
sited evidently  presented  a  kind  of  food  natural  to 
the  fishes,  which  was  eagerly  devoured  by  them,  so 
that  the  snails  became  not  only  the  scavengers,  but 
also  the  feeders  of  the  little  colony.  And  so  this  first 
of  true  aquaria  prospered;  the  animals  and  plants 
proving  of  mutual  value  and  support  to  each  other. 

"By  the  culture  of  some  of  our  most  beautiful 
fresh- water  plants,  in  glass  aquaria,  many  of  the  wild 
beauties  of  Nature,  in  some  of  her  most  pleasing  and 


THE    AQUARIUM.  63 

interesting  aspects,  may  be  wrought  into  attractive 
decorations  for  our  ordinary  living-rooms,  with  very 
little  trouble  or  expense. 

"  By  means  of  an  aquarium,  the  forms  and  habits 
of  fish,  reptiles,  and  aquatic  insects  [also,]  may  be 
made  to  develop  themselves  under  our  eyes,  undis- 
turbed by  the  continual  necessity  of  changing'  the 
water;  thus  affording  us  the  curious  spectacle  of 
many  phases  of  animal  life  that  have  hitherto  been 
concealed  in  depths  inaccessible  to  the  observation 
of  the  most  curious." 

A  very  interesting  circumstance  which  appears  to 
have  occurred  during  some  of  the  early  researches 
of  the  same  author  in  aquatic  animal  life,  although  a 
digression  from  our  subject,  is  too  curious  to  be 
omitted. 

He  says,  "  A  strange,  scorpion-like  creature,  after 
exercising  its  voracious  appetite  upon  every  other 
living  thing  in  the  vessel  in  which  I  had  placed  it, 
seemed  suddenly  to  lose  all  taste  for  the  luxuries  of 
the  palate,  notwithstanding  a  copious  supply  of  the 
living  delicacies  it  was  most  fond  of,  and  with  which 
I  had  taken  care  to  furnish  it  at  regular  intervals. 
It  became  restless  and  apparently  diseased, .  and  I 
concluded  that  I  was  about  to  lose  this  favorite  spe- 
cimen as  I  had  lost  so  many  others.  Its  uneasiness, 
however,  took  quite  a  different  turn  to  the  one  I  ex- 
pected, ending  in  nothing  less  than  a  determination 
to  leave  its  native  element.  Had  I  seen  a  Carp  or  a 
Tench  quietly  walk  out  of  the  fish-pond  and  climb  a 
tree,  I  could  not  have  been  more  astonished  than 


64  THE    AQUARIUM. 

when  I  saw  this  creature  of  the  water,  which,  with 
its  fin-like  tail,  and  other  appendages,  was  evidently 
intended  for  a  denizen  of  that  element,  quietly  crawl 
up  a  stick  which  was  standing  in  the  vessel,  and, 
emerging  from  the  water,  remain  quietly  attached  to 
the  support  it  had  selected,  at  some  inches  above  the 
surface  of  the  element  it  thus  so  strangely  and  sud- 
denly quitted.  Its  determination  appeared  the  more 
astonishing,  as  I  soon  perceived  its  finny  tail,  its  legs, 
and  at  last  the  whole  of  its  skin,  gradually  hardened 
and  blackened,  and  it  appeared  to  have  shared  the 
natural  fate  of  a  fish  out  of  water.  After  watching 
it  for  some  days,  without  perceiving  any  further 
change,  other  matters  occupied  my  attention,  and  I 
entirely  forgot  the  fate  of  my  voracious  pet,  which 
had  met  such  an  untimely  end  in  consequence  of 
rashly  leaving  the  proper  sphere  of  its  existence. 

"  Some  little  time  afterwards  I  was  about  to  empty 
the  jar,  and  throw  away  the  stick  to  which  the  dried 
and  hardened  form  of  the  victim  to  getting  out  of 
bounds  was  still  attached,  when  I  thought  I  perceived 
a  division  in  the  blackened  skin  of  the  back.  As  I 
saw  that  the  opening  widened,  my  curiosity  became 
again  excited,  and  I  determined  to  watch  and  see  if 
any  other  change  would  follow.  Taking  a  book, 
therefore,  I  sat  down  near  the  object  of  my  attention. 
I  had  not  read  many  pages,  turning  frequently  to- 
wards the  remains  upon  the  stick,  when  suddenly — • 
I  shall  never  forget  the  surprise  of  the  moment — 
when  suddenly  the  opening  of  the  back  was  much 
widened,  as  by  some  sudden  effort,  and  the  greater 


THE    AQUARIUM.  65 

part  of  a  glittering  Dragon-fly  became  plainly  visible; 
very  quickly  the  whole  insect  emerged  from  the 
blackened  shell,  spreading  its  great  gossamer  wings 
to  the  sun,  which  was  shining  brightly  through  the 
window. 

"  I  had  by  an  accident,  for  I  can  hardly  call  it  the 
result  of  a  course  of  observation,  witnessed  one  of 
the  most  extraordinary  and  complete  of  the  meta- 
morphoses that  occur  in  the  whole  range  of  insect 
life,  and  was  all  anxiety  to  pursue  my  discoveries.  I 
was,  however,  baffled  in  all  future  attempts,  at  that 
time,  to  extend  my  knowledge  of  the  mysterious 
creatures  of  the  world  of  waters ;  and  it  was  not  till 
recent  discoverers  have  shown  how  the  Aquarium 
may  be  made  the  means  of  facilitating  studies  of  that 
class,  combined  with  an  elegant  and  delightful  mode 
of  amusement,  that  I  resumed  the  course  of  observa- 
tion which  has  been  so  long  interrupted  by  difficulties 
which  appeared  insurmountable." 

Those  plants  which  naturally  grow  entirely  below 
the  surface  of  the  water,  are  best  calculated  for  the 
purpose  of  the  Aquarium,  as  they  are  less  liable  to 
decay }  and  their  leaves  being  mostly  very  fine  and 
delicate,  they  not  only  present  a  more  beautiful  ap- 
pearance, but  the  breathing  organs  are  more  gene- 
rally distributed  throughout  the  water.  This  is  par- 
ticularly noticeable  in  marine  plants,  they  consisting 
frequently  of  bunches  of  delicately  formed  filaments, 
of  so  fragile  a  texture  as  to  be  very  easily  broken^ 
but  which  float  at  their  ease  upon  the  ocean;  waving 
6*  E 


66  THE    AQUARIUM. 

to  and  fro  with  the  motion  of  the  water  as  gracefully 
as  the  trees  ware  before  the  winds. 

In  the  illustration  on  page  59,  the  tall  and  graceful 
form  of  the  Calla  will  be  recognized  rearing  its  beau- 
tiful flowers  far  above  the  surface  of  the  water,  while 
below  will  be  seen  the  forms  of  some  of  the  most 
interesting  aquatics. 

The  foliage  of  the  Myriophyllum  presents  a  fine 
appearance  when  seen  floating  in  the  water,  the  very 
minute  divisions  of  which  have  given  it  the  name  of 
Milfoil,  or  thousand  leaves. 

The  Water  Buttercup  is  also  a  very  interesting 
plant,  on  account  of  its  peculiar  growth ;  the  leaves 
which  appear  below  the  surface  of  the  water  are  so 
deeply  cut,  as  apparently  to  consist  of  nothing  but 
veins  or  fibres,  while  those  which  are  developed  above 
are  broad  and  flat,  the  veins  being  connected  by  the 
ordinary  tissue.  The  Starwort  also  presents  the  same 
formation;  the  foliage  below  is  long  and  slender, 
while  it  spreads  out  upon  the  surface  in  beautiful 
whorls,  somewhat  like  a  star.  Here  we  see  peculiari- 
ties adapted  to  two  different  elements,  existing  in  the 
same  plant. 

The  number  of  plants  which  may  be  grown  suc- 
cessfully in  an  Aquarium,  is  great ;  but  for  ordinary 
purposes,  three  or  four  well-selected  varieties  are  suf- 
ficient. In  all  cases  a  specimen  of  Valisneria  Spi- 
ralis  should  be  obtained,  if  possible,  as  its  grass-like 
appearance  is  particularly  appropriate,  and  it  is  an 
excellent  generator  of  oxygen. 


SEA    WEEDS. 


67 


Sea  Weeds. 


The  flowing  and  deli- 
cate forms,  and  the  rich- 
ness of  coloring  of  many 
of  the  "Sea  Weeds/' 
as  they  are  called,  ren- 
der them  objects  pecu- 
liarly worthy  of  our 
attention.  The  careless 
lounger  at  the  sea-side, 
as  he  casts  his  vacant 
gaze  over  the  swelling 
bosom  of  the  deep, 
dreams  not  of  the  store 
of  hidden  treasures 
which  lie  veiled  beneath 
its  waters.  Little  does 

he  think  that  wave  upon  wave,  as  they  roll  in  cease- 
less succession,  tossing  their  snowy  crests  upon  the 
pebbly  shore,  come  freighted  with  the  beauties  of 
many  a  far-distant  clime.  But  an  eye  accustomed  to 
recreate  among  the  varied  scenes  which  adorn  this 
beautiful  world,  cannot  but  feel  an  irresistible  long- 
ing to  lift  the  folds  of  that  broad  curtain  which 
separates  him  from  the  wonders  of  the  vast  mysterious 
ocean.  Each  new-born  gale  that  wafts  its  saline  fra- 
grance o'er  the  white-capped  billows,  and  every  ripple 
that  laves  his  feet,  is  laden  with  themes  for  sugges- 
tive thought;  while  every  tide  that  flows,  bearing 
upon  its  swell  jewels  from  the  profoundest  depths, 
itself  unveils  in  its  ebbings  the  beauties  of  a  "  world 
beneath  the  sea." 


68  SEA    WEEDS. 

If  you  will  examine  the  beach  during  the  recess  of 
the  tides,  particularly  after  a  storm,  you  will  find  it 
thickly  strewn  with  frr  gments  of  the  most  beautiful 
plants;  some  being  colored  with  the  most  brilliant 
shades  of  crimson,  some  sparkling  as  with  gold,  or 
glittering  like  silver,  and  all  possessing  a  very  pecu- 
liar and  cu/ious  formation;  while  in  the  little  pools 
among  the  rocks  may  be  seen  many  of  the  lower 
forms  of  animal  life,  which  are  truly  wonderful. 
Almost  any  of  the  marine  plants  are  suitable  for  the 
Aquarium,  and  it  is  here  that  their  peculiar  habits 
may  be  most  carefully  studied.  They  generally  thrive 
well  with  little  care,  and  mostly  present  a  singular 
appearance,  fastened  to  the  rocks,  and  growing  we 
scarce  know  how.  A  few  of  these,  well  chosen  and 
tastefully  arranged  in  a  glass  tank,  together  with 
shell-fish,  Sea  Anemones,  and  a  few  Sticklebacks  and 
Minnows  to  give  life  to  the  whole,  will  form  an  object 
which  cannot  fail  to  interest  the  most  unthinking  in- 
dividual. 

There  are  some  plants  found  growing  on  the  rocks 
near  the  sea,  which,  although  they  resemble  the  sea- 
weeds in  some  respects,  belong  to  a  different  class, 
and  a  slight  knowledge  of  botany  will  enable  any  one 
to  distinguish  between  them. 

The  Samphire  is  an  example;  it  is  an  umbellifer- 
ous plant,  and  never  grows  below  the  surface  of  the 
water,  but  fastens  itself  upon  the  rocks  just  beyond 
the  reach  of  the  tide,  but  where  it  can  receive  suffi- 
cient moisture  from  the  spray. 

An  interesting  anecdote  is  related  of  some  ship- 


SEAWEEDS.  69 

wrecked  mariners  who  owed  the  preservation  of  their 
lives  to  the  knowledge  of  the  habits  of  this  plant, 
possessed  by  one  of  their  number. 

It  was  many  years  ago  that  a  large  ship  was  driven 
upon  the  rocks  in  the  English  Channel,  upon  which 
she  soon  became  a  wreck.  The  entire  crew  were  lost 
except  four,  who  clung  to  a  large  projecting  crag, 
which  appeared  to  be  the  only  refuge  to  which  they 
could  resort.  The  darkness  of  the  night  rendered 
every  other  object  invisible,  except  when  the  vivid 
flashes  of  lightning  would  cast  upon  the  wild  scene 
around  them  a  momentary  glare,  revealing  the  true 
horrors  of  their  forlorn  condition.  This  was  rendered 
the  more  hopeless  as  they  perceived  that  the  tide 
was  rising,  and  the  spot  on  which  they  stood  was 
decreasing  in  size  as  each  succeeding  wave  broke 
over  them.  The  storm  was  too  violent  to  admit  of 
their  being  heard  from  the  shore,  and  the  melan- 
choly thought  that  they  would  soon  be  driven  from 
their  only  hope  of  safety  by  the  advancing  waters 
was  truly  disheartening.  Just  at  this  moment,  when 
they  were  debating  whether  or  not  they  should  com- 
mit themselves  to  the  mercy  of  the  waves,  in  hopes 
of  reaching  some  more  elevated  position,  one  of  them, 
while  endeavoring  to  hold  more  firmly  to  the  rock, 
grasped  a  weed,  which,  wet  as  it  was,  he  at  once  re- 
cognized as  the  Rock  Samphire,  which  he  knew  never 
grew  beneath  the  water.  The  knowledge  of  this  fact, 
indicating  that  the  tide  had  nearly  reached  its  highest 
point,  assured  them  that  they  might  remain  with 
safety.  Their  anxiety  was  at  once  relieved,  and  the 


70  SEA    WEEDS. 

rest  of  that  dreadful  night  passed  in  comparative 
comfort.  At  daybreak  their  perilous  condition  was 
discovered  from  the  shore,  and  they  were  rescued 
"A  little  learning/'  in  this  case,  was  certainly  nc 
"dangerous  thing." 

The  Sea  Weeds,  or  marine  "  Algae,"  as  they  are 
termed,  belong  to  the  first  great  natural  order 
of  plants,  —  the  Acrogenous ;  they  are  so  called  be- 
cause, with  a  few  exceptions,  they  are  devoid  of 
the  usual  appendages  of  plants  —  stems,  leaves, 
and  flowers.  Some  of  the  simplest  forms  belong- 
ing to  this  order  consist  merely  of  a  mass  of  cellu- 
lar tissue.  The  mpuld  which  collects  in  damp 
places,  and  sometimes  upon  the  top 
of  articles  of  food  that  have  been 
kept  in  damp  closets,  is  a  little  plant 
of  this  order.  The  green  tinge  as- 
sumed by  stagnant  water,  is  owing 
to  the  presence  of  a  species  of  fresh 
water  "Algae/'  which  grows  spon- 
taneously in  such  places.  The  beau- 
tiful lichens  that  cover  the  bark  of 
Mould,  magnified,  some  trees,  and  the  rails  and  boards 
of  old  fences,  the  many  kinds  of 
moss  with  which  our  woods  abound,  and  the  un- 
sightly mushroom  and  toadstool,  all  belong  to  this 
order  of  plants.  In  all  these  there  exists  nothing 
which  can  be  strictly  defined  as  either  stem,  leaf, 
or  flower;  but  in  the  "Ferns,"  which  also  belong  to 
the  same  order,  we  see  the  connecting  link  between 
the  higher  and  the  lower  forms  of  vegetable  life.  The 


FERNS. 


71 


rudiment  of  a  stem  exists  underground  in  what  is 
called  a  rhizome,  from  which 
the  fronds  shoot  out,  in 
the  same  manner  as  the 
leaves  spring  from  the  buds 
of  other  plants ;  these  fronds 
have  a  strong  midrib  which 
is  commonly  called  a  stalk. 
There  are  said  to  be  between 
two  and  three  thousand  va- 
rieties of  Ferns;  some  of 
them,  in  the  tropics,  attain 
the  enormous  height  of 
thirty  feet.  Their  growth  is 
extremely  interesting,  the 
fronds  opening  in  a  peculiar  Ferns. 

manner,  unwinding  them- 
selves, as  it  were,  from  a  round  ball.  The  seed- 
vessels  are  placed  on  the  back  of  the  fronds  in  little 
spots  or  bunches,  and  the  seed  is  so  fine  as  to  be  only 
perceptible  under  the  microscope.  Ferns  thrive  best 
in  moist  and  warm  situations ;  if  grown  under  a  glass 
vessel  which  will  confine  the  moisture,  they  form  a 
beautiful  and  interesting  parlor  ornament. 


ARCTIC    PLANTS. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

ARCTIC  PLANTS — VARIETIES"  OP  CLIMATE  AND  EFFECT  UPON 
VEGETATION — RHODODENDRONS TEA — MODE  OF  PREPARA- 
TION —  BARREN  PINE PITCHER  PLANT SPIKENARD  — 

SAFFRON  —  CROCUSSES  —  MOTION    IN    PLANTS  —  SENSITIVE 
PLANT  — VENUS    FLY-TRAP  —  ROOTS    OF    PLANTS. 

T  is  very  interesting  and  instructive 
to  examine  into  the  character  of  the 
different  plants  which  are  adapted  to 
'various  sections  of  the  globe. 

While  there  is  but  little  doubt 
that  Nature  no  where  displays  her 
gaudy  colorings  in  greater  profusion,  or  to 
better  advantage  than  in  the  wilds  of  South 
America,  yet  there  are  many  other  lands 
where  the  productions  of  the  vegetable  king- 
dom are  no  less  useful  and  attractive.  Even  the  ice- 
bound regions  of  the  Arctic  Circle  can  boast  of  their 
green  mossy  banks  and  smiling  flowers,  which  are 
certainly  none  the  less  remarkable  for  the  fact  that, 
owing  to  the  shortness  of  the  summer  season,  the 
process  of  vegetation  is  so  rapid,  that  in  some  species 
the  whole  time  required  to  reach  maturity  is  little 
more  than  a  month. 


ALPINE    PLANTS.  73 

Many  Alpine  plants,  cradled  in  perpetual  snows, 
and  exposed  during  a  great  part  of  the  year  to  the 
driving  of  the  wintry  blasts,  which  are  so  common 
in  Switzerland,  Lapland,  and  other  cold  regions,  are 
so  tenacious  of  their  accustomed  haunts  and  habits, 
that 

"  The  raging  tempest  and  the  mountain's  roar, 
But  bind  them  to  their  native  hills  the  more; 

and  any  attempt  to  grow  them  in  a  milder  climate  is 
generally  attended  with  failure.  These  plants  are 
mostly  quite  diminutive,  although  they  sometimes 
produce  flowers  of  considerable  size  and  beauty. 

The  most  common  color  among  plants  which  in- 
habit very  cold  countries  is  white,  or  a  light  shade 
of  pink  or  yellow.  Thus,  the  snow-drop,  the  lily  of 
the  valley,  the  white-flowered  wood-sorrel,  are  all 
productions  of  high  northern  latitudes  j  while  in 
warmer  regions,  the  flowers  are  robed  in  stronger 
hues. 

It  is  observed  that  mountainous  places  are  generally 
much  more  productive  than  the  valleys ;  but  there  is 
scarcely  any  situation,  however  unfavorably  located, 
where  plants  and  flowers  are  not  occasionally  met 
with.  They  are  found 

"  Springing  in  valleys  green  and  low, 

And  on  the  mountains  high; 
And  in  the  silent  wilderness, 
Where  no  one  passes  by." 

On  one  of  the  highest  points  in  Europe,  at  the 
elevation  of  eight  thousand  feet  above  the  level  of 

7 


74  EFFECTS    OF    CLIMATE. 

the  sea,  is  a  beautiful  and  verdant  garden,  which  is 
entirely  surrounded  by  snows  that  never  melt.  This 
spot  is  covered  with  Alpine  plants ;  and  so  luxuriant 
is  the  growth  of  the  vegetation,  that  at  certain  sea- 
sons of  the  year  the  Swiss  peasants  drive  their  cattle 
over  the  great  glacier  of  Mer  de  Grlace  for  the  sake 
of  the  delightful  pasture  the  valley  affords. 

In  our  own  country,  where  so  great  a  variety  of 
climate  is  witnessed,  it  is  probable  that  a  greater 
variety  of  plants  can  be  enumerated  than  in  any  other. 
Our  gardens  and  conservatories  are  indebted  for  many 
of  their  finest  ornaments  to  the  far-off  fields  and  woods 
of  California,  Mexico,  and  the  territories  west  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  —  countries  which  combine  within 
their  range  a  climate  varying  almost  from  frigid  to 
tropical,  and  exhibiting  at  the  same  season  a  corre- 
sponding difference  in  their  floral  productions.  In 
the  northern  and  western  States,  while  the  cold  earth 
still  lies  locked  in  winter's  last  embraces,  the  woods 
of  the  south  are  teeming  with  life,  the  fields  are 
clothed  with  the  verdure  of  spring,  and  the  air  is 
scented  with  the  perfume  of  flowers.  But  in  the 
regions  of  tropical  Mexico,  and  the  everglades  of 
Florida,  vegetation  becomes  so  entirely  changed  in 
its  character,  as  to  maintain  a  more  uniform  appear- 
ance at  all  seasons  of  the  year. 

Most  plants,  whose  roots  are  perennial,  have  a 
period  of  rest,  during  which  they  cease  to  grow ;  in 
the  north,  this  is  usually  indicated  by  the  falling  of 
the  leaves,  and  the  plant  assuming  the  appearance 
of  being  dead ;  in  the  tropics  it  is  marked  by  the 


THE    RHODODENDRON.  75 

absence  of  flowers,  and  of  the  fresh  and  vivid  green 
of  the  younger  growth. 

But  in  many  plants, 
even  in  rigorous  cli- 
mates, this  period  of 
rest  is  not  attended 
by  the  falling  of  the 
foliage.  The  beauti- 
ful varieties  of  the 
Rhododendron,  some 
of  which  inhabit  the 
mountains  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, are  examples, 
among  many  others, 
of  evergreen  shrubs. 
The  greatest  variety 
of  these  superb  flower- 
ing plants  grow  on  the 
Rhododendron.  woody  slopes  of  the 

Himalaya  Mountains,  where  they  may  be  seen  early 
in  the  spring  loaded  with  their  conspicuous  heads  of 
often  gay-colored  and  fragrant  blossoms.  Occasion- 
ally large  trees  become  quite  embowered  in  them,  as 
they  sometimes  fasten  themselves  to  the  trunks,  and, 
leaving  their  hold  upon  the  earth,  creep  to  the  very 
summits,  where  they  grow  in  the  manner  of  parasites, 
deriving  their  nourishment  from  the  bark. 

The  flowers  of  these  plants  vary  much,  both  in 
size  and  color ;  some  are  very  large,  and  appear  two 
or  three  together  j  these  are  mostly  white  or  cream- 
colored,  resembling  a  lily ;  others  are  brilliant  crim- 


76  THETEAPLANT. 

son,  deep  scarlet,  rose-colored,  yellow,  or  purple,  and 
hang  in  large  bunches  at  the  ends  of  the  branches. 
Travellers  in  the  Himalaya  Mountains  speak  of  the 
Rhododendrons  as  being  among  the  most  beautiful 
of  the  many  vegetable  curiosities  of  that  fertile 
region. 

There  are  also  many  plants  whose  leaves,  as  well 
as  their  flowers,  form  objects  of  wonder;  and  some 
are  rendered  peculiarly  interesting  because  of  the 
prominent  part  they  occupy  in  our  domestic  economy. 
Thus,  the  common,  Tea  Plant  is  so  well  known,  that 
every  one  should  be  made  acquainted  with  the  mode 
of  its  culture,  as  well  as  with  the  method  of  convert- 
ing the  leaves  into  that  useful  article,  which  takes  so 
conspicuous  a  place  in  the  commerce  of  the  world. 

This  plant  grows  about  eight  feet  in  height,  with 
leaves  two  and  a  half  inches  long,  and  one  and  a  half 
wide,  and  bears  a  small  white  flower.  The  Chinese 
raise  the  plants  from  seed,  and  when  they  have  grown 
of  sufficient  size,  they  are  set  out  in  the  ground  at 
intervals  of  about  three  or  four  feet  apart ;  they  are 
kept  cropped  close  for  a  year  or  two,  to  make  them 
grow  thick  and  bushy.  When  they  are  about  four 
years  of  age,  they  commence  to  gather  the  leaves; 
this  is  done  several  times  during  the  year,  and  is 
continued  for  about  six  or  eight  years,  when  they  are 
removed  and  fresh  ones  planted.  The  leaves  first 
gathered  in  the  spring  make  the  finest  flavored  teas, 
while  those  which  are  taken  subsequently  produce  a 
much  inferior  article. 

What  are  commonly  known  as  green  and  black 


THETEAPLANT.  77 

teas  are  the  products  of  the  same  plant,  treated  in 
different  ways.  The  green  tea  is  made  by  commencing 
to  dry  the  leaves  in  the  ovens  as  soon  as  they  are 
picked,  the  whole  operation  of  drying,  rolling,  and 
roasting,  being  done  very  quickly ;  while  in  the  black 
tea  the  leaves,  when  picked,  are  laid  in  the  sun  until 
they  become  entirely  soft  and  wilted,  when  they  are 
shaken  about  in  sieves  held  over  hot  steam ;  this  de- 
prives them  of  the  peculiar  properties  which  belong 
to  the  green  tea.  When  the  leaves  become  quite 
flaccid  and  watery,  they  are  put  into  large  copper 
dishes  and  roasted  for  a  few  minutes  over  a  hot  fire, 
when  they  are  taken  out  and  rolled  between  the 
hands.  In  the  finer  sorts,  each  leaf  is  rolled  sepa- 
rately ;  after  this,  the  process  of  drying  and  baking 
is  commenced  by  alternately  placing  them  over  the 
fire,  and  then  exposing  them  to  the  air  for  some 
hours.  This  is  repeated  five  or  six  times,  when  the 
tea  is  fit  for  use. 

Tea  leaves  possess  properties  which  will  produce 
giddiness,  headache,  and  even  paralysis ;  these  pro- 
perties are  much  weakened  in  the  process  of  drying; 
and  the  longer  this  is  in  being  completed,  the  more 
wholesome  tea  becomes.  Both  green  and  black  teas 
act  as  powerful  nervous  stimulants  upon  a  system 
which  has  not  become  accustomed  to  them;  hence 
the  benefit  often  derived  from  their  use  by  persons 
in  advanced  life  who  have  abstained  from  them  when 
young. 

The  tea  plant  was  cultivated,  and  its  leaves  used, 
as  early  as  the  fourth  century ;  and,  in  the  year  763, 
7  * 


78  THE    TEA    PLANT. 

a  duty  of  ten  per  cent, 
was  laid  upon  it  by  the 
Chinese  government; 
since  which  time  it 
has  been  a  fruitful 
source  of  revenue  to 
the  Empire.  The  an- 
nual product  of  China 
alone  amounts  to  the 
enormous  quantity  of 
two  and  one-half  bil- 
lions of  pounds  — 
(2,500,000,000.)  Add 
to  this  the  vast  pro- 
Tea  Plant.  duct  Of  Japall)  Java? 

and  Corea,  and  we  may  justly  be  amazed  to  think 
what  a  great  tea-drinker  the  world  is. 

Wherever  we  turn  our  eyes,  and  from  whatever 
point  we  view  the  vegetable  kingdom,  we  see  new 
wonders ;  something  new  to  be  learned ;  and  as  we 
are  always  forgetting,  how  well  it  is  that  new  subjects 
of  interest  are  always  awaiting  our  notice.  And  how 
instructive  it  is  in  all  these  things  to  observe  that 
Nature  adapts  herself  to  the  peculiar  circumstances 
in  which  she  is  placed. 

The  barren  pine,  so  called  from  its  being  unpro- 
ductive, exactly  resembles  the  stem  that  bears  the 
pine-apple  in  our  green-houses.  It  is  not,  however, 
entirely  useless ;  for  in  some  species  there  is  a  pro- 
tuberance hanging  down  resembling  a  bowl ;  in  this 
the  rain  collects,  and  remains  a  considerable  length 


THE    PITCHER    PLANT.  79 

of  time  quite  pure  and  sweet.  This,  Nature  provides 
for  the  use  of  the  plant.  It  grows  on  the  dry  stump 
of  a  withered  tree,  and  from  the  sapless  wood  it  could 
derive  no  nourishment ;  and  thus  a  new  mode  of  sup- 
plying it  with  moisture  is  found.  Nor  is  this  all ; 
the  plant  generally  grows  on  trees  on  the  tops  of 
mountains,  where  there  are  neither  streams  nor 
springs,  and  in  hot  weather  it  frequently  yields  the 
traveller  a  cool  and  refreshing  draught,  when  no  other 
water  can  be  found  near  it. 
There  are  also  some 
plants  which  spring  up  in 
dry  and  sunburnt  soils, 
whose  herbage  is  of  so 
juicy  a  nature,  as  to  serve 
the  same  purpose  as  water 
in  quenching  the  thirst. 
But  perhaps  the  most  re- 
markable plant  yet  known, 
which  possesses  the  faculty  Pitcher  Plant- 

of  secreting  pure  water,  is  the  Pitcher  Plant.  From 
the  end  of  each  leaf  hangs  a  large  vessel  in  the  shape 
of  a  pitcher,  and  capable  of  holding  nearly  a  pint 
of  water;  each  pitcher  has  a  lid  fitting  closely  to 
the  top,  and  opening  wide  upon  its  hinges  in  damp 
weather,  and  again  closing  when  it  is  dry,  to  prevent 
evaporation.  But  how,  it  may  be  asked,  is  this  deli- 
cately suspended  vessel  supported  when  so  full  ?  Na- 
ture here  supplies  an  adequate  provision ;  behind  the 
lid  is  placed  a  little  hook,  which,  with  marvellous 
sagacity,  catches  hold  upon  some  neighboring  twig 


80  SPIKENARD. 

or  tendril,  and  thus  the  required  support  is  obtained. 
The  liquid  is  secreted  by  the  plant  itself,  and  is  re- 
markably pure,  though  it  grows  in  a  muddy  and  un- 
wholesome marsh. 

The  costly  and  delicious  odor,  known  in  ancient 
times  as  Spikenard,  has  been  assigned  by  various  au- 
thors as  the  product  of  different  plants,  and  it  has 
not  been  until  recently  that  any  satisfactory  infor- 
mation has  been  gained  respecting  it.  There  now 
appears,  however,  to  be  but  little  doubt  that  it  is  a 
species  of  Valerian,  which  grows  in  the  colder  parts 
of  the  mountains  of  India.  The  plant  must  have 
been  comparatively  rare,  as  it  is  always  spoken  of  in 
Scripture  as  being  very  precious  Or  costly.  When 
Mary  anointed  the  head  of  Jesus  with  this  sweet 
perfume,  Judas  took  occasion  to  murmur  at  the  waste, 
saying,  that  "  this  ointment  might  have  been  sold  for 
more  than  three  hundred  pence,  and  given  to  the 
poor."  It  was  usually  imported  in  boxes  of  alabaster, 
and  when  the  master  of  a  house  received  his  guests, 
it  was  customary  for  him  not  only  to  crown  them  with 
flowers,  but  also  to  bring  forth  the  box  of  precious 
ointment,  and  break  the  seal  which  prevented  the 
volatile  perfume  from  escaping,  and  anoint  them  with 
it.  So  sweet  was  its  fragrance,  and  so  much  esteemed, 
that  Horace,  speaking  of  it,  says,  "  that  a  small  onyx 
box  full  was  equal  in  value  to  a  large  vessel  of  wine." 
Its  costliness  was  probably  owing  in  part  to  the  great 
distance  from  which  it  was  brought. 

In  reading  over  the  books  of  the  Old  Testament, 
one  cannot  fail  to  be  struck  with  the  fact  that  per- 


SAFFRON.  81 

r&mes  were  held  in  great  esteem  by  the  Hebrews,  and 
that  very  large  quantities  were  used  by  them. 

"  Spikenard  and  Saffron,  Calamus  and  Cinnamon, 
with  all  trees  of  frankincense,  myrrh  and  aloes,  with 
all  the  chief  spices,"  (Cant.  iv.  14,)  seem  to  have 
been  very  prominently  useful  in  the  preparation  of 
odors  which  were  then  esteemed  so  important  in  the 
performance  of  many  religious  rites.  It  was  among 
these,  as  above  enumerated  by  Solomon,  that  we  have 
the  first  mention  of  Saffron. 

There  are  few,  perhaps,  who  are  not  well  acquainted 
with  the  common  Crocus  of  our  gardens,  which  in 
the  spring,  in  company  with  the  Snowdrop,  fairly 
pierces  the  snow  and  ice,  to  gain  admission  to  the 
light,  and  expand  its  beautiful  blossoms.  The  Saffron, 
although  it  blooms  in  the  fall  instead  of  the  spring, 
is  nevertheless  a  genuine  crocus.  In  some  parts  of 
England  it  is  extensively  cultivated,  and  has  almost 
become  naturalized,  and  may  often  be  seen  spreading 
out  its  bright  purple  flowers  to  the  sun,  in  the  mea- 
dows and  pasture-fields. 

The  article,  known  as  Saffron  in  commerce,  is  no- 
thing more  than  the  dried  stigmas  taken  from  the 
flower ;  they  are  of  a  very  brilliant  yellow  color,  and 
possess  an  agreeable  odor. 

The  power  of  motion,  similar  to  that  of  animals, 
is  often  seen  in  the  vegetable  kingdom.  It  is  very 
common  for  climbing  plants  to  bend  their  stems  to- 
ward some  object  upon  which  they  may  obtain  sup- 
port ;  this  can  hardly  be  called  motion,  as  the  change 
of  position  is  so  gradual  as  scarcely  to  be  perceptible. 
F 


82  MOTIONIN 

But  in  some  of  the  species  of  Mimosa  or  Sensitive 
Plants,  the  slightest  touch  of  the  hand  will  produce 
a  sudden  and  very  considerable  change  in  the  posi- 
tion of  the  leaves,  as  they  will  immediately  fold  them- 
selves together,  and  if  the  touch  be  repeated,  the 
leaf-stalks  will  fall  and  bend  themselves  toward  the 
stem.  A  strong  wind  or  heavy  rain  will  produce  the 
same  effect,  and  those  kinds  which  grow  in  countries 
where  there  is  a  long  continuance  of  rain,  close  their 
leaves  upon  its  approach,  and  are  seldom  fully  ex- 
panded until  the  return  of  fair  weather. 

The  leaves  of  the  common  sensitive  plant  will  par- 
tially close  at  evening,  and  remain  so  until  the  light 
of  day  again  causes  them  to  expand ;  and  when  ex- 
posed to  sudden  cold  during  the  daytime,  they  will 
fold  themselves  face  to  face,  so  as  to  allow  as  little  as 
possible  of  the  upper  surface  to  remain  open  to  the 
air. 

The  Venus  Fly-trap  is  also  an  example  of  motion ; 
the  leaves  are  very  curiously  constructed.  At  the 
extremities  are  spread  out  two  wide  and  rounded 
lobes,  each  armed  upon  the  margin  with  rows  of 
spines,  or  rather  stiff  hair -like  processes,  locking 
into  each  other  when  they  meet,  which  always  occurs 
when  irritated.  The  upper  surface  of  these  lobes  is 
covered  with  minute  glands,  which  evidently  con- 
tain a  liquid  attractive  to  insects,  as  they  fre- 
quently resort  to  the  plants ;  but  no  sooner  do  they 
alight  upon  the  leaves,  and  their  little  feet  irritate 
them,  than  the  two  lobes  instantly  fold  together, 
squeezing  the  insect  to  death.  The  leaf  seldom  opens 


ROOTS    Or    PLANTS.  83 

again,  unless  the  prisoner  is  first  set  free;  and  so 
powerful  is  the  grasp  by  which  it  is  held,  that  it  re- 
quires considerable  force  to  liberate  it.  The  plant 
cannot,  however,  discriminate  between  the  touch  of  a 
straw  and  the  tickling  of  a  bee,  as  the  effect  of  either 
is  the  same. 

The  peculiarity  of  the  roots  of  different  plants  is 
as  noticeable  as  that  of  the  leaves  and  flowers ;  and 
although  they  possess  nothing  that  is  attractive  to 
the  eye,  they  are  nevertheless  essential  to  the  exist- 
ence of  the  plant. 

They  have  been,  for  the  most  part,  placed  by  the 
Creator  below  the  surface  of  the  ground,  yet  they 
are  not  to  be  entirely  lost  sight  of  on  this  account. 
Let  us  learn  from  them  not  to  despise  those  whose 
circumstances  in  life  are  apparently  beneath  our  own, 
but  ever  remember  that  the  proud  and  majestic  oak, 
that  waves  its  tall  summit  in  the  breeze,  uncon- 
scious of  .the  root  that  bears  it,  is  none  the  less  de- 
pendent on  that  root  for  its  safety  in  the  storm. 

All  plants  have  either  annual,  biennial,  or  peren- 
nial roots.  Annuals  are  such  as  continue  but  one 
year,  the  plant  reproducing  its  species  by  seed ;  bien- 
nials are  such  as  spring  from  the  seed,  forming  a 
plant  during  the  first  year  which  does  not  mature  its 
seed  until  the  second  season ;  and  perennials  are  such 
as  live  for  an  unlimited  length  of  time,  making  fresh 
growth  and  producing  seed  each  year. 

The  'most  common  form  of  roots  is  fibrous  j  these 
are  divided  and  subdivided  into  minute  filaments 
which  often  penetrate  the  soil  to  a  great  distance.  It 


84  ROOTS    OP    PLANTS. 

has  been  said  by  some  authors  that  the  roots  of  trees 
spread  as  much  beneath  the  ground  as  the  branches 
do  above  it;  but  this  can  hardly  be  said  to  hold 
good  in  all  cases.  Fibrous-rooted  plants  often  per- 
form great  service  in  loose  sandy  soils,  especially 
along  water-courses,  where  they  form  a  thick  and 
matted  mass,  thus  preventing  the  washing  away  of 
the  earth.  Tuberous  roots  are  solid  and  very  irregular 
in  their  shape,  and  are  often  linked  together  by  slen- 
der fibres.  Roots  of  this  form  are  the  most  useful,  as 
they  are  generally  edible;  the  common  potato,  the 
turnip,  and  the  radish,  are  familiar  examples. 

Bulbous  roots  are  of  various  kinds ;  some  are  solid, 
as  in  the  crocus ;  others  are  composed  of  fleshy  layers 
placed  one  above  the  other,  as  in  the  onion ;  and  others 
consist  of  thin  scales,  as  in  some  species  of  the  lily. 
They  all  appear  to  act  as  reservoirs  for  the  vitality 
of  the  plant  during  its  dormant  state. 

A  bull)  is  entirely  analogous  to  the  bud  upon  a 
tree,  each  containing  within  itself  the  embryo  of  the 
future  stem  or  plant.  In  the  bulb  of  the  tulip,  the 
microscope  will  reveal  the  entire  leaf,  stem  and  flower, 
all  folded  up  within  its  layers,  and  which  require  no- 
thing but  the  action  of  light,  heat  and  moisture,  to 
expand  into  perfection ;  so  in  the  bud  upon  the  tree, 
the  leaves  and  blossoms  which  open  in  the  spring  are 
all  encased  in  miniature  in  that  tiny  compass. 


TREES.  85 


CHAPTER  VII. 

TREES. 

USES  OF  TREES — THE  OAK — VARIETIES  OF  THE  OAK — STRUC- 
TURE OF  THE  ACORN — GROWTH  OF  THE  TREE— CIRCULATION 
OF  THE  SAP EFFECT  OF  LIGHT  UPON  THE  FOLIAGE — LIVE- 
OAK CORK-OAK HOLLY-OAK "OAKS  OF  BASHAN" 

BLACK    AND    WHITE-OAKS STATISTICS    OF    THE    SIZE    AND 

AGES  OF  VARIOUS  OAKS  IN  AMERICA  AND  EUROPE  —  THE 
CHESTNUT  AND  THE  CHESTNUT-OAK — AGE  AND  SIZE  OF  THE 
CHESTNUT — THE  BEECH — THE  WALNUT — THE  HICKORY. 

ET  us  now  turn  our  attention  from 
the  beautiful  verdure  which  clothes 
the  surface  of  the  earth,  and  behold 
the  wonders  of  creative  skill,  as  dis- 
played in  the  majestic  Trees  of  the 
Forest.  How  gracefully  they  bend 
their  waving  summits  to  the  passing  gale ! 
How  softly  murmurs  the  fragrant  breath  of 
summer  through  their  leafy  bowers !  How 
gorgeous  are  the  tints  in  which  sere  autumn 
robes  them !  While  dark  and  dreary  winter,  with  its 
thousand  storms,  wraps  its  grey  mantle  around  their 
naked  branches. 

How  indispensably  necessary  to  our  comfort  are 
trees !     How  endless  are  the  uses  to  which  they  are 
8 


86 


WOOD. 


applied!  To  say  nothing  of  their  beauty  and  the 
charming  freshness  of  their  shade,  how  multiplied 
are  the  conveniences  which  they  afford  by  supplying 
us  with  that  most  useful  article,  Wood ! 

Without  trees  for  building  purposes,  and  for  the 
manufacture  of  those  many  utensils,  which  seem  al- 
most coupled  with  our  very  existence,  how  changed 
would  life  be !  Half  the  comfort  of  our  houses  is 
due  to  the  wood  which  forms  so  large  a  part  of  the 
materials  of  which  they  are  constructed ;  and  many  of 
the  charms  of  country  firesides  are  owing  to  the  uncon- 
scious and  unsightly  logs  that  lie  blazing  upon  the 
hearthstone. 

But  however  dependent  upon  trees  for  the  supply 
of  our  daily  wants,  and  however  they  may  excite  our 
admiration  when  we  look  upon  their  noble  forms,  yet 
how  few  there  are  who  sufficiently  reflect  upon  the 
manifold  blessings  which  are  conferred  upon  us  by 
their  existence ! 

The  forest  trees  of 
the  temperate  zone 
may  be  considered  as 
forming  the  type  of 
the  second  great  na- 
tural order  of  plants, 
called  "Exogenous," 
from  the  fact  that  the 
new  growth  takes 
place  on  the  exterior 
surface  of  the  stem,  a 
new  layer  of  wood  be- 


Exogonous  Wood,  showing  th« 
growth  of  nine  years. 


WOOD.  87 

ing  deposited  each  year.  The  leaves  of  such  plants 
have  their  veins  running  in  all  directions,  forming  a 
fine  network. 

It  is  to  this  class  of  trees  that  we  principally  look 
for  our  supply  of  timber  for  building  and  other  pur- 
poses, as  they  are  far  more  abundant  than  the  endo- 
genous, and  attain  to  a  much  greater  size,  while  the 
wood  is  more  easily  worked,  and  much  more  durable. 

The  most  useful  woods  in  supplying  our  daily  wants, 
both  as  fuel  and  building-lumber,  are  Oak,  Chestnut, 
Pine,  Hemlock,  Elm,  Ash,  Hickory,  Poplar,  and 
Maple. 

Those  which  are  most  useful  as  fancy-woods  for 
the  -manufacture  of  Cabinet-ware,  are  Mahogany, 
Walnut,  Rose-wood,  (obtained  from  a  species  of  Mi- 
mosa which  grows  in  Brazil,)  Tulip-wood,  (to  be  had 
only  in  small  pieces  not  wider  than  five  inches,) 
Zebra-wood,  (probably  the  production  of  a  large  tree, 
and  beautifully  shaded  with  white,  red,  and  black 
stripes,)  Satin-wood,  (a  fine-grained  wood  of  a  bril- 
liant yellow  color,  brought  from  India,)  Sandal-wood, 
(resembling  tulip-wood,  and  possessed  of  a  very  fine 
odor,)  Camphor-wood,  (the  product  of  the  Camphor- 
tree,)  Ebony,  Iron-wood,  Canary-wood,  and  many 
others  of  less  importance. 

The  wood  of  the  Box-tree  is  also  an  article  of  con- 
siderable importance  in  commerce ;  it  is  remarkably 
fine  and  close-grained,  which  makes  it  particularly 
serviceable  for  the  use  of  the  engraver;  and  it  is  to 
this  tree  that  we  owe  the  facility  and  cheapness  with 
which  many  books  are  illustrated. 


88  THE    OAK. 

The  variety  to  be  observed  in  trees  is  not  so  great 
as  in  other  plants ;  but  in  the  same  forest  a  considera- 
ble number  of  kinds  may  be  seen  that  are  entirely 
different,  even  of  such  as  are  commonly  known  by 
the  same  name.  Thus,  what  is  termed  Oak,  often 
consists  of  eight  or  ten  varieties,  such  as  Black-oak, 
White-oak,  Chestnut-oak,  Pin- 
oak,  Willow-oak,  Red-oak,  Scar- 
let-oak, Spanish-oak,  Post-oak, 
&c.  &c.  These  all  differ,  not 
only  in  the  formation  of  their 
leaves  and  fruit,  but  there  is  a 
marked  difference  in  their  man- 
ner of  growth,  and  the  wood 
of  each  possesses  its  own  pecu- 
liar properties.  Within  the  limits 
Of  the  United  States,  there  are  no 
less  than  thirty  or  forty  varieties  of  this  useful  tree  j 
some  are  quite  small,  growing  only  to  the  height  of 
two  or  three  feet ;  but  by  far  the  largest  number  are 
lofty  trees,  with  wide-spreading  branches.  Let  us 
here  stop  and  pick  up  an  acorn  which  has  fallen  from 
one  of  these,  and  examine  its  wonderful  construction, 
and  compare  its  tiny  proportions  with  the  majestic 
plant  that  bore  it,  and  the  counterpart  of  which  it  is 
destined  to  produce.  Encased  within  that  bony  co- 
vering lie  hid  all  the  essential  parts  of  the  infant 
tree,  perfect  and  complete;  roots,  stem,  leaves  and 
buds. 

The  germ  of  the  future  plant  is  placed  at  one  end 
of  the  acorn,  and  although  of  so  delicate  and  fragile 


THE    ACORN. 

a  texture,  that  a  slight  rub  would 

be  sufficient  to  break  it,  yet  so 

nicely  is  it  fitted  to  its  shell,  that 

the  nut  may  be  handled  very 

roughly  without  injuring  it.  This 

germ  consists  of  two  parts,  the 

plume  which  rises  and  forms  the 

future  stem,  and   the   beak  or 

radicle  which  descends  and  forms 

the  root.    How  surprising  is  the 

ascent  of  the  one  and  the  descent 

of  the  other !    It  is,  in  fact,  the  Black-Oak. 

effort  of  the  one  to  get  into  the  air,  and  of  the  other 

to  enter  the  earth.     Were  they  to  be  placed  in  an 

inverted  position,  the  result  would  be  the  same ;  each 

would  bend  itself  toward  its  proper  element. 

Clasping  the  germ  are  the 
two  lo!:?8  of  the  kernel,  which 
serve  the  important  purpose  of 
sustaining  the  life  of  the  plant 
until  it  has  become  sufficiently 
rooted  to  derive  all  its  nourish- 
ment from  the  soil. 

When  through  the  combined 
influence  of  heat  and  moisture, 
the  germ  cracks  open  the  case 
by  which  it  is  confined,  it  sends 
down  a  strong  radicle,  called  a  Red-Oak, 

tap-root ;  then  the  two  lobes  of  the  kernel  separate, 
and  the  plume  springs  out  from  between  them.    This 
consists  of  two  leaves,  which  soon  expand  and  disclose 
8* 


90  CIRCULATION    OP    SAP. 

at  their  base  a  bud  from  which  in  like  manner  addi- 
tional leaves  make  their  appearance.     The  functions 
of  the  little  plant  are  now  as  complete  as  they  are  in 
the  monster  tree.    The  delicate  stem  is  supplied  with 
its  capillary  tubes,  which  carry  the  nourishment  from 
the  root,  and  distribute  it  throughout  the  different 
parts  of  the  plant.  These  vessels 
perform  the  same  part  to  the 
tree  as  the  veins  and  arteries 
to  the  human  body.     One  set, 
comparable  to  the  veins,  carry 
the  sap  through  the  trunk  and 
branches  to  the  leaves,  where 
it  is  spread  out  in  the  minute 
reticulated  net-work   on   their 
upper  surfaces,  and  like   the 
Post-Oak.  blood  in  the  lungs  is  there  ex- 

posed to  the  action  of  the  light  and  air,  absorbing 
from  the  latter  a  portion  of  carbon,  and  at  the  same 
time  parting  with  its  oxygen.  This  process  purifies 
the  sap,  and  renders  it  fit  for  the  nourishment  of  the 
tree,  when  a  new  set  of  vessels,  similar  in  their  omce 
to  the  arteries,  distribute  it  to  the  different  parts 
where  it  is  required.  This  sap,  thus  purified,  con- 
tains all  the  requisites  for  the  formation  of  the  wood 
and  bark  of  the  trunk  and  branches,  and  the  cuticle 
for  the  formation  of  the  leaves. 

The  effect  of  light  upon  the  sap  is  very  great; 
those  plants  which  receive  the  largest  amount  of  sun- 
light have  leaves  of  a  deep  green.  Light  is  therefore 
an  essential  element  in  promoting  the  healthy  growth 


CIRCULATION    OF    SAP. 


91 


of  trees,  as  it  will  be  observed  that  the  absorption  of 
carbon,  and  the  giving  out  of  the  oxygen  becomes 
less  active  as  the  light  is  diminished,  while  during 
the  night  the  contrary  process  occurs,  the  oxygen  be- 
ing absorbed,  and  the  carbon  released. 

Thus  it  is  by  the  assistance  of 
these  vessels   that  the  little  oak- 
plant  becomes   a   perfect   tree  in 
miniature,  and  continues  to  increase 
in  size  and  strength  from  year  to 
year,  until  the  woodman  levels  with 
his  axe  the  sturdy  trunk  that  has 
defied  the  storms  of  a  century.    Let 
us  here  examine  the  stump  that  re- 
mains, and  we  will  observe  a  num- 
ber of  concentric  rings  commencing 
at  the  bark,  and  running  around       Chestnut-Oak, 
the  tree,  one  inside  of  the  other,  until  they  reach  the 
centre.     (See  figure  of  Exogenous  Wood  on  a  pre- 
vious page.)     Each  ring  indicates  one  year's  growth, 
a  new  layer  of  wood  being  depo- 
sited every  season  immediately 
under  the  bark.     The  age  of 
any  tree   may  be  determined 
with  considerable  accuracy  by 
counting  these  rings. 

Some  species  of  Oaks  retain 
their  foliage  during  winter,  as 
the  Live-oak.  This  tree  in- 
habits the  Southern  States, 
where  it  occasionally  grows  to  Spanish  Oak 


92  THE    OAK. 

a  considerable  size.  It  is  probably  the  most  valuable 
wood  known  for  ship-building,  on  account  of  its  great 
durability.  In  South  Carolina  the  Live-oaks  are  often 
hung  with  the  graceful  festoons  of  a  beautiful  moss, 
which  dangles  from  their  branches  in  pendent  masses 
of  several  yards  in  length. 

The  Cork-oak,  a  native  of  the  South  of  Europe 
and  the  northern  coast  of  Africa,  is  also  an  evergreen, 
and  much  resembles  the  Live-oak  in  appearance. 
That  useful  substance,  Cork,  is  the  bark  of  this  tree, 
which  grows  to  a  considerable  thickness;  and,  as 
though  designed  by  Providence  for  some  peculiar 
purpose,  may  be  removed  without  injury  to  the  tree, 
a  new  coating  being  rapidly  formed ;  thus  producing 
a  crop  of  cork  about  every  ten  years. 

The  Oaks  of  Palestine  are 
also  mostly  evergreen.  One 
species,  closely  resembling  the 
Holly  in  its  appearance,  and 
called  the  Holly-leaved  Oak, 
is  particularly  abundant;  the 
scenery  of  the  Holy  Land  be- 
ing often  varied  with  its  beau- 
tiful  form. 

As  the  climate  of  Syria  is  too  warm  for  the  Oak 
to  flourish  in  the  valleys,  it  is  mostly  confined  to  the 
more  elevated  positions.  Groups  of  low  shrubby  Oaks 
are  scattered  all  over  the  hills  of  Hebron ;  and  many 
of  the  evergreen  varieties  are  found  in  the  forests 
which  cover  the  hills  of  Canaan.  But  the  tall  "  Oaks 
of  Bashan,"  spoken  of  in  Scripture,  are  more  attractive 


THE    OAK.  93 

on  account  of  their  great  size  and  venerable  appear- 
ance, as  well  as  their  luxuriant  foliage ;  and  many  a 
weary  traveller  may  repose  beneath  their  refreshing 
shade  upon  the  spot  rendered  memorable  by  the  beau- 
tiful similes  of  the  Prophets  Isaiah  and  Zechariah. 
Isa.  ii.  12,  13.  Zech.  xi.  2. 

Of  all  the  varieties  of  the 
Oak,  the  black  and  the  white 
are  with  us  the  most  abundant 
and  the  most  useful ;  the  wood 
is  extensively  used  in  ship- 
building, as  well  as  for  many 
other  purposes  equally  im- 
portant, while  the  bark  is  not 
only  the  principal  substance  Willow-Oak, 

used  by  the  tanner  in  the  preparation  of  leather,  but 
is  also  of  great  use  in  dyeing. 

These  Oaks  often  attain  a  great  size,  and  live  to  a 
very  advanced  age.  The  "  Charter-Oak,"  so  cele- 
brated in  the  history  of  our  country,  was  an  old  and 
venerated  tree  in  the  Revolution.  The  "  Flushing- 
Oaks/'  the  remains  of  which  are  still  standing,  yielded 
an  abundant  shade,  under  which  large  congregations 
were  accustomed  to  assemble  near  two  hundred  years 
ago  to  listen  to  the  preaching  of  George  Fox. 

In  England,  where  antiquity  is  more  venerated 
than  in  America,  such  relics  of  bygone  ages,  sentinels 
that  have  watched  over  the  destiny  of  many  a 
monarch,  are  regarded  with  deep  interest.  The  ages 
of  some  of  these  have  been  computed  with  considera- 
ble certainty,  by  reference  to  data  which  have  been 


94  THE    OAK. 

preserved  on  record  relating  to  them,  and  also  by 
means  of  some  inscriptions  which  have  been  found 
deeply  imbedded  in  the  solid  wood,  and  over  which 
the  growth  of  years  has  been  deposited. 

The  following  description  of  a  few  remarkable 
trees  in  different  parts  of  England,  is  taken  from 
London's  Arboretum :  — 

"  The  Merton  Oak  stands  on  the  estate  of  Lord 
Walsingham.  It  is  66  feet  high,  and,  at  the  surface 
of  the  ground,  the  circumference  of  the  trunk  is  63 
feet  2  inches.  At  one  foot  [from  the  ground],  it  is 
46  feet  1  inch ;  the  trunk  is  18  feet  6  inches  to  the 
fork  of  the  branches ;  the  largest  limb  is  18  feet,  and 
the  second  16  feet  in  circumference." 

"  The  Winfarthing  Oak  is  70  feet  in  circumfer- 
ence ;  the  trunk  is  quite  hollow,  and  the  cavity  large 
enough  to  hold  30  persons.  It  is  said  to  have  been 
called  the  "  Old  Oak,"  at  the  time  of  William  the 
Conqueror.*  It  is  now  a  mere  shell  —  a  mighty 
ruin,  bleached  to  a  snowy  white ;  but  it  is  magnificent 
in  its  decay.  The  only  mark  of  vitality  which  it  ex- 
hibits, is  on  the  south  side,  where  a  narrow  strip  of 
bark  sends  forth  a  few  branches,  which  even  now 
(1836)  occasionally  produce  acorns." 

"  The  Salcey  Forest  Oak  is  described  as  '  one  of 
the  most  picturesque  sylvan  ruins  that  can  be  met 
with  anywhere/  It  is  supposed  to  be  above  1500 
years  old ;  and  its  trunk  is  so  decayed  as  to  form  a 
complete  arch,  which  is  14  feet  8  inches  high,  and  29 

*  This  tree  is  most  probably  1500  years  old. 


THE    OAK.  95 

feet  in  circumference  inside.  The  tree  is  33  feet  3 
inches  high,  and  47  feet  in  circumference  on  the  out- 
side near  the  ground.  This  fine  ruin  is  still  standing, 
and,  though  it  has  latterly  become  much  wasted,  it 
annually  produces  a  crop  of  leaves  and  acorns." 


Th«  Cbandos  Oak. 

•*  The  '  Chandos  Oak '  stands  in  the  pleasure- 
g.  junds  of  Michendon  House,  near  Southgate,  and 
is  about  60  feet  high.  The  head  covers  a  space,  the 
diameter  of  which  measures  118  feet.  The  girth  of 
the  trunk,  at  one  foot  from  the  ground,  is  18  feet  3 
inches.  It  has  no  large  limbs;  but,  when  in  full 
foliage,  its  boughs  bending  to  the  earth,  with  almost 
artificial  regularity  of  form,  and  equi-drstant  from 
each  other,  give  it  the  appearance  of  a  gigantic  tent. 
It  forms,  indeed,  a  magnificent  living  canopy,  imper- 
vious to  the  day." 

"  The  '  Boddington  Oak '  grew  in  a  piece  of  rich 
grass-land,  called  the  Old  Orchard  Ground,  belonging 


96  THE    OAK. 

to  Boddington  Manor  Farm,  in  the  vale  of  Gloucester. 
The  sides  of  the  trunk  were  more  upright  than  those 
of  large  trees  generally;  and  at  the  surface  of  the 
ground  it  measured  54  feet  in  circumference.  In 
1783,  its  trunk  was  formed  into  a  room  which  was 
wainscoted,  and  measured  in  one  direction  16  feet 
in  diameter.  The  hollowness,  however,  contracts 
upwards,  and  forms  itself  into  a  natural  dome.  It  is 
still  perfectly  alive  and  fruitful,  having  this  yeai 
(1783)  a  fine  crop  of  acorns  upon  it.  This  tree  was 
burnt  down,  either  by  accident  or  design,  in  1790." 
"  Of  the  Magdalen,  or  Great  Oak  of  Oxford,  Gilpin 
gives  the  following  interesting  notice  :  —  *  Close  by 
the  gate  of  the  water-walk  of  Magdalen  College,  Ox- 
ford, grew  an  Oak,  which,  perhaps,  stood  there  a 
sapling  when  Alfred  the  Great  founded  the  Univer- 
sity. It  is  a  difficult  matter  to  ascertain  the  age  of  a 
tree.  The  age  of  a  castle  or  abbey  is  the  object  of  his- 
tory. But  the  time  occupied  in  completing  its  growth 
is  not  worth  recording  in  the  early  part  of  a  tree's 
existence.  It  is  then  only  a  common  tree ;  and  after- 
wards, when  it  is  become  remarkable  for  age,  all  me- 
mory of  its  youth  is  lost.  This  tree,  however,  can 
almost  produce  historical  evidence  for  the  age  it 
boasts.  About  500  years  after  the  time  of  Alfred, 
William  of  Waynfleet,  Dr.  Stuckely  tells  us,  expressly 
ordered  his  college  [Magdalen  College]  to  be  founded 
near  the  Great  Oak ;  and  an  oak  could  not,  I  think, 
be  less  than  500  years  of  age  to  merit  that  title,  to- 
gether with  the  honor  of  fixing  the  site  of  a  college. 
When  the  magnificence  of  Cardinal  Wolsey  erected 


THE    OAK.  97 

that  handsome  tower  which  is  so  ornamental  to  the 
whole  building,  this  tree  might  probably  be  in  fhe 
meridian  of  its  glory  j  or  rather,  perhaps,  it  had  at- 
tained a  green  old  age.  It  was  afterward  much  injured 
in  the  reign  of  Charles  II.,  when  the  present  walks 
were  laid  out.  Its  roots  were  disturbed;  and  from 
that  period  it  declined  fast,  and  became  reduced  to  a 
mere  trunk.  Through  a  space  of  16  yards  on  every 
side  from  its  trunk,  it  once  flung  its  boughs,  and 
under  its  magnificent  pavilion  could  have  sheltered 
with  ease  3000  men.  In  the  summer  of  1788,  this 
magnificent  ruin  fell  to  the  ground." 

"  The  Cowthorpe  Oak,  in  Yorkshire,  measures  at 
its  base  78  feet  in  circumference.  The  space  occu- 
pied by  this  tree,  where  the  trunk  meets  the  ground, 
exceeds  the  ground-plot  of  that  majestic  column,  the 
Eddystone  Light-house ;  and  horizontal  slices  of  Da- 
morey's  Oak  would  have  laid  every  floor  in  one  piece 
throughout  the  whole  building." 

The  oak  and  the  chestnut  are  very  closely  con- 
nected, not  only  in  their  appearance,  but  also  in  their 
general  character.  The  leaves  of  the  chestnut  and 
the  chestnut-oak  would  be  mistaken  for  each  other 
by  one  unaccustomed  to  the  difference,  those  of  the 
chestnut  being  only  a  little  more  sharply  toothed  than 
the  other. 

In  California,  a  species  of  oak  has  been  discovered, 
whose  mode  of  flowering,  and  indeed  the  whole  ap- 
pearance of  the  tree,  is  so  similar  to  that  of  the  chest- 
nut, as  to  require  the  presence  of  the  fruit  fully  to 
determine  its  identity.  The  wood  of  each  also  bears 
9  G 


98  THE     CHESTNUT. 

some  comparison,  the  color  and  grain  being  much  the 
same;  the  oak  is,  however,  tougher  and  heavier, 
while  the  chestnut,  in  consequence  of  the  evenness 
and  regularity  of  the  fibre,  possesses  the  peculiar 
property  of  being  easily  split  into  long  straight  pieces. 
Hence  its  great  utility  to  the  farmer  for  fencing. 

A  close  connection  is  also  observable  in  many 
of  their  habits.  The  chestnut  delights  in  a  high  and 
hilly  soil,  and  grows  freely  in  the  same  positions  where 
the  chestnut-oak  abounds.  If  a  large  tree  of  each  be 
cut  down,  strong  scions  will  soon  spring  up  in  all 
directions  from  the  roots,  forming  bushy  clumps, 
which  resemble  each  other  so  closely  as  to  be  readily 
taken  for  the  same  tree. 

The  chestnut  also  lives  to  a  great  age,  and  in  some 
situations  grows  to  an  enormous  size.  The  famous 
chestnut  tree,  which  grew  upon  Mount  Etna,  was  pro- 
bably one  of  the  largest  and  oldest  trees  in  the  world. 
In  1770,  this  tree  is  said  to  have  measured  204  feet 
in  circumference ;  its  trunk  was  quite  hollow,  and  a 
house  had  been  built  in  the  interior,  which  was  in- 
habited by  some  country  people.  The  age  of  this  tree 
of  course  cannot  be  estimated  with  any  certainty. 

The  old  chestnut  tree  at  Tortworth,  in  England, 
was  probably  planted  by  the  Romans,  as  the  tree  is 
not  a  native  of  that  country.  It  was  evidently  old  at 
the  time  of  the  Norman  Conquest,  as  history  speaks 
of  it  as  a  famous  tree  in  the  time  of  King  John.  It 
measured  57  feet  in  circumference. 

The  Beech,  in  some  respects,  resembles  both  the 
Oak  and  the  Chestnut;  and  was  originally  classed  with 


THE    BEECH.  99 

the  latter  by  Linnaeus,  the  great  Swedish  Naturalist. 
The  wood,  however,  differs  much  from  the  others  in 
being  very  close  and  fine-grained.  The  fruit  is  en- 
closed in  a  scaly  burr,  somewhat  resembling  the  cup 
of  an  acorn,  which,  when  matured,  opens  into  four 
sections,  and  allows  the  triangular  nuts  to  escape.  In 
France  and  Germany,  an  excellent  oil  is  obtained 
from  the  kernels,  which  is  said  to  be  superior  to  that 
produced  by  the  Olive. 

The  beech  is  rarely  found  living  to  any  great  age, 
although  occasional  specimens  are  met  with  which 
are  evidently  of  great  antiquity.  A  Beech  which 
stood  some  years  since  in  Windsor  Forest,  England, 
is  said  to  have  existed  prior  to  the  Norman  Conquest, 
which  would  indicate  that  it  had  known  the  changes 
of  at  least  800  years.  At  the  time  of  the  last  mea- 
surement, it  was  about  36  feet  in  circumference  at 
the  base. 

In  America  the  beech  is  a  beautiful  tree,  with 
dense  and  finely-cut  foliage,  forming  a  thick  and  im- 
penetrable shade.  It  sometimes  attains  a  height  of 
100  feet,  with  a  trunk  measuring  8  or  10  feet  in  cir- 
cumference. 

In  connection  with  the  Chestnut  and  Beech  must 
be  mentioned  the  Walnut  and  Hickory;  trees  of  great 
beauty  and  interest,  as  well  as  utility.  Of  each,  there 
are  several  varieties.  Of  the  Walnut,  the  Black  is 
probably  the  most  useful  by  far,  it  being  used  very 
extensively  in  this  its  native  country,  as  well  as  in 
Europe,  for  the  manufacture  of  cabinet-ware.  The 
wood,  which  is  of  a  fine  dark  color,  and  beauti- 


100  THE     HICKORY. 

fully  veined  and  mottled,  is  susceptible  of  a  very  high 
polish.  Some  of  our  most  beautiful  articles  of  fur- 
niture are  made  from  this  wood,  and  it  may  be  justly 
ranked  among  the  most  useful  of  our  sylvan  produc- 
tions. The  black  walnut  occasionally,  though  seldom, 
attains  a  great  size.  The  trunk  of  one  grown  on  the 
south  side  of  Lake  Erie,  was  some  years  since  ex- 
hibited in  London,  which  was  12  feet  in  diameter, 
and  was  hollowed  out  and  furnished  as  a  sitting-room. 
The  tree  was  said  to  have  been  150  feet  in  height,  with 
branches  from  2  to  4  feet  in  diameter,  and  the  bark 
1  foot  in  thickness. 

The  Hickory,  though  nearly  allied  to  the  Walnut, 
possesses  properties  peculiarly  its  own ;  its  wood  is 
light-colored,  tough,  and  elastic,  which  renders  it 
very  serviceable  to  the  carriage  and  wagon  builder; 
and  the  air  of  comfort  which  always  surrounds  the 
hearth  where  the  crackling  of  a  good  hickory  fire  is 
heard,  fully  attests  its  usefulness  as  fuel. 

The  Hickory,  particularly  the  variety  known  as  the 
Shellbark,  is  a  noble  and  majestic  tree,  rising  to  the 
height  of  70  or  80  feet,  with  a  trunk  sometimes  5 
feet  in  thickness  at  the  base,  and  varying  but  little 
from  the  straight  line  almost  to  its  summit,  and  fre- 
quently without  a  branch  below  the  height  of  40  feet. 
The  gathering  of  the  nuts  of  the  walnut  and  hickory 
affords  considerable  merriment  to  the  younger  part 
of  the  farmer's  family,  while  many  a  city  fire-side, 
cheered  by  the  social  gathering,  has  found  a  rich 
treat  in  the  fruits  of  these  noble  trees. 


THE    WILLOW. 


101 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THE  WILLOW — NUMBER  OF  VARIETIES  —  NAPOLEON'S  WILLOW 

CURLED    WILLOW ELM — BIRCH POPLAR ASPEN 

LOMBARDY    POPLAR  —  TULIP    TREE THE    YEW FLOWER- 
ING  TREES  —  THE    MAGNOLIA. 

Y  the  rivers  of  Babylon  there 
we  sat  down;  yea,  we  wept 
when  we  remembered  Zion. 
We  hanged  our  harps  upon 
the  willows  in  the  midst  there- 
of." Ps.  cxxxvii.  1,  2. 
This  beautiful  and  poetic  allusion, 
undoubtedly  refers  to  the  Weeping 
Willow,  which  was  formerly  very  abun- 
dant in  the  environs  of  Babylon,  whence 
arises  its  botanical  name,  Salix  Babylonica.  The 
word  Salix  is  derived  from  the  Celtic,  and  means 
near  water,  referring  to  the  general  habit  of  all  the 
willows  of  frequenting  watery  places.  They  often 
give  a  very  picturesque  appearance  to  the  landscape, 
as  they  spread  their  branches,  covered  with  the  most 
beautiful  foliage,  over  the  smooth  surface  of  the 
water,  or  gracefully  dip  their  long  slender  boughs 
into  the  stream. 

But  we  may  imagine  that,  however  beautiful  was 
the  effect  thus  produced,  it  must  have  possessed  but 
9* 


102  THE    WEEPING    WILLOW. 

few  charms  for  the  captives  of  Judea,  as  they  sat 
mournfully  brooding  over  their  sorrows,  with  harps 
unstrung,  and  weeping  at  the  remembrance  of  Zion's 
surpassing  loveliness. 

Many  of  the  common  varieties  of  willow  are  per- 
haps known  to  most  of  our  readers.  But  there  are 
few  who  are  aware  of  the  great  difference  that  really 
exists  between  many  that  appear  to  be  the  same. 
There  are  probably  no  less  than  forty  or  fifty  distinct 
varieties  to  be  found  in  the  United  States,  and 
more  than  double  that  number  in  other  parts  of  the 
world. 

In  the  Arctic  regions  there  is  a  species  which  is 
no  more  than  a  few  inches  in  height ;  and  in  latitudes 
nearly  approaching  the  pole,  it  is  almost  the  only 
woody  plant  to  be  found.  The  Weeping  Willow 
grows  in  China,  Japan,  Syria,  and  the  northern  parts 
of  Africa,  which  appear  to  be  its  native  localities; 
but  it  may  also  be  seen  in  most  of  the  countries  of 
the  temperate  zone. 

In  the  island  of  St.  Helena  there  once  stood  a  tree 
of  this  kind,  which  was  known  as  Napoleon's  Willow. 
It  was  planted  by  the  Governor  of  the  island  about 
the  year  1810,  and  grew  among  the  other  trees  on 
the  side  of  a  valley,  near  to  a  spring.  Having  at- 
tained a  considerable  size,  it  attracted  the  attention 
of  Napoleon,  who  had  a  seat  placed  under  it,  and 
used  frequently  to  resort  to  its  shade,  and  have  water 
brought  to  him  from  the  adjoining  fountain.  About 
the  time  of  the  death  of  the  Emperor,  it  is  said  that 
a  storm  shattered  the  tree  in  pieces.  Many  cuttings 


THE    CURLED    WILLOW.  103 

were  taken  from  it;  and  trees  propagated  from  this 
original  may  now  be  found  in  various  parts  of  the 
world.  By  many,  this  tree  was  supposed  to  have 
been  of  the  variety  known  as  the  Curled  Willow ;  but 
this  appears  to  be  an  error. 

The  Curled  Willow,  whose  leaves  are  curled  into 
rings,  or  twisted  up  like  corkscrews,  is  nothing  more 
than  a  curious  variety  of  the  Weeping  Willow ;  it  is 
of  rather  a  dwarf  habit,  and  the  crisp  and  parched 
appearance  of  the  leaves  destroys  much  of  the  beau- 
tiful effect  of  the  drooping  of  the  branches 

Scarcely  anything,  it  may  be  said,  enters  so  deeply 
into  the  beauty  of  a  landscape  as  the  great  variety 
noticeable  in  the  outline  presented  by  different  trees, 
as  well  as  the  multiplicity  of  the  shape,  size  and  color 
of  the  foliage.  The  tall  spire  of  the  Lombardy  Poplar, 
with  its  small,  opaque  leaves,  peers  far  above  the 
rounded  tops  of  the  Maples  and  Lindens ;  and  the 
sharp-pointed  cone  of  the  Cypress  forms  a  fine  con- 
trast with  the  irregular  outline  of  the  Tulip  Tree ; 
while  on  the  deep,  dark  back-ground,  formed  by  the 
large  and  heavy  leaves  of  the  Oak  and  Hickory, 
stands  out  in  pleasing  prominence  the  fine,  light,  and 
silvery  foliage  of  the  Willow. 

The  Elm  also  assumes  a  very  prominent  position 
in  the  American  Landscape  j  and  the  eye  cannot  fail 
to  rest  with  pleasure  upon  its  beautiful  outline.  It 
is  in  the  northern  and  eastern  States  that  it  attains 
the  greatest  perfection.  The  trunk  rises  to  the  height 
of  60  or  70  feet,  insensibly  diminishing  in  thickness 
from  the  base,  until  it  is  lost  in  the  minute  ramifica- 


104  THE    ELM. 

tions  of  the  topmost  boughs,  which  are  widely  diver- 
gent, and  shoot  out  on  all  sides  in  long,  flexible,  and 
pendulous  branches,  bending  into  regular  arches,  and 
floating  lightly  in  the  air.  In  isolated  positions  the 
Elm  occasionally  grows  to  the  height  of  100  feet; 
the  trunk  is  then  sometimes  clothed  to  near  its  base 
with  its  beautiful  verdure,  which  seems  to  wreathe 
about  it  like  some  parasitical  vine  or  creeper. 

In  Europe,  the  Elm  lives  to  an  advanced  age,  and 
often  attains  a  prodigious  size.  The  Crawley  Elm, 
situated  on  the  road  from  London  to  Brighton,  is  71 
feet  high,  and  the  trunk  measures  at  the  ground  61 
feet  in  circumference. 

At  Hampstead,  a  Hollow  Elm  formerly  stood,  the 
trunk  of  which  measured  at  the  base  about  30  feet, 
and  at  the  height  of  42  feet  appears  to  have  been 
broken  off.  It  is  entirely  hollow  from  the  top  to  the 
bottom,  in  which  a  staircase  had  been  built,  leading 
to  the  summit,  which  was  turreted,  and  provided  with 
seats  for  six  persons.  It  appeared  to  be  in  a  thriving 
condition,  and  covered  with  the  most  luxuriant  foliage, 
which  spread  to  a  considerable  distance  on  every  side. 

The  Birch  and  the  Poplar  must  also  be  reckoned 
among  the  beautiful  trees  of  our  forests.  The  Paper, 
or  Canoe  Birch,  and  the  Yellow  Birch,  both  in- 
habitants of  the  Northern  and  Eastern  States  and 
Nova  Scotia,  are  lofty  trees,  with  their  trunks  mea- 
suring from  3  to  18  feet  in  circumference.  The 
former  is  remarkable  for  the  beautiful  texture  of  the 
bark,  which  is  capable  of  being  split  into  thin  plates 
or  layers,  which  have  a  fine  smooth  surface,  and 


THE    ASPEN.  105 

when  carefully  prepared,  may  be  used  as  a  substitute 
for  paper.  The  thicker  plates  are  made  into  car.oes 
by  the  Indians,  which  are  particularly  light  and 
buoyant,  and  entirely  impervious  to  water.  One  of 
these,  constructed  to  accommodate  four  persons  with 
their  baggage,  it  is  said,  will  weigh  only  40  or  50 
pounds.  Their  lightness  renders  them  peculiarly 
serviceable  in  navigating  rivers  where  the  stream  is 
often  interrupted  by  rocky  rapids  or  cascades,  as  they 
may  be  readily  carried  around  them  by  land,  and 
again  launched  in  the  water  below. 

In  the  settlements  of  the  Hud- 
son's Bay  Company,  we  are  told 
this  tree  sometimes  measures  18 
or  20  feet  in  circumference  at 
the  base;  the  bark  is  used  in 
building  tents,  it  being  cut  in 
pieces  12  feet  long,  and  4  feet 
wide;  these  are  sewed  together 
with  the  long  pliable  roots  of  the 
Spruce,  and  so  rapidly  is  the 
work  done,  that,  a  tent  of  20  feet  in  diameter,  and  10 
feet  high,  does  not,  it  is  said,  occupy  more  than  half 
an  hour  in  pitching. 

No  small  quantity  of  Birch-wood  was  used  by  the 
School-masters  of  the  Olden-time,  as  a  means'  of  in- 
stilling sound  views  and  correct  principles  into  the 
minds  of  their  pupils ;  but  thanks  to  the  progress  of 
civilization,  that  practice  is  almost  obsolete,  and  the 
once-dreaded  birch  is  again  consigned  to  those  uses 
for  which  it  was  originally  created. 


106  THE    POPLAR. 

Among  the  varieties  of  our  native  Poplars,  perhaps 
the  most  beautiful  and  the  most  familiar  is  the  Aspen. 
The  leaves  of  this  tree  are  hung  on  long  and  slender 
petioles,  which  are  flattened  at  the  base/ and  attached 
to  the  stem  in  such  a  manner,  as  to  cause  them  to 
rock  backward  and  forward,  with  the  least  motion 
of  the  air.  When  scarcely  the  slightest  breeze  is 
stirring,  and  every  other  tree  seems  lulled  into  com- 
plete repose,  the  foliage  of  the  Aspen  may  often  be 
seen  quivering  as  though  shaken  by  force.. 

The  Lombardy  Poplar,  once  so  abundant  about  our 
farm  and  country  houses,  and  which  shoots  above  its 
surroundings,  like  some  tall  church-spire,  was  ori- 
ginally brought  from  Italy,  where  it  abounds  on  the 
banks  of  the  river  Po.  Its  cultivation  is  now  be- 
coming much  neglected,  partly  in  consequence  of  the 
climate  or  soil  not  being  adapted  to  its  growth,  as 
its  beautiful  and  pleasing  outlines  are  often  marred 
in  a  single  season  by  parts  of  the  tree  being  killed, 
either  by  the  severe  cold  or  other  causes.  It  is  much 
to  be  regretted  that  this  is  the  case,  as  it  certainly 
forms  a  very  conspicuous  object,  and  occupies  a  posi- 
tion in  our  rural  scenery  which  no  other  tree  can 
supply. 

In  Europe,  it  attains  to  a  great  size  and  beauty, 
often  measuring  over  100  feet  in  height,  and  3  to  5 
feet  in  diameter  at  the  base. 

The  tree,  commonly  known  as  the  Tulip  Poplar, 
belongs  to  a  very  different  genera,  and  is  altogether 
misnamed,  as  it  bears  no  resemblance  whatever  to 
the  Poplars.  It  is,  however,  one  of  the  most  useful, 


THE    TULIP    TREE.  107 

as  well  as  the  most  beautiful,  of  our  forest  trees. 
The  wood  is  commonly  called  poplar-wood,  and  being 
soft  and  easily  worked,  is  extensively  used  in  the 
manufacture  of  Cabinet-ware.  This  tree  is  very  con- 
spicuous in  the  early  summer  months  on  account  of 
the  abundance  of  its  large  showy  flowers,  each  being 
the  size,  and  having  much  the  appearance  of  the 
tulip.  But  its  appearance  is  too  familiar  to  need 
much  further  description. 

A  noble  specimen  of  this  tree, 
which  recently  stood  upon  the 
farm  of  Friends'  Boarding-school 
at  West-town,  measured  at  the 
base  about  37  feet  in  circum- 
ference, and  was  about  100  feet 
in  height.  It  was  hollow  in  the 
centre,  with  an  opening  on  one 
side  like  a  tent-door.  Respect- 

Tulip  Tree. 

ing  its  age  and  history,  one  of 
the  Principals  in  the  Seminary  writes :  —  "  We  have 
no  data  from  which  to  determine  its  age,  but  judg- 
ing from  analogy,  it  must  have  been  in  existence 
long  before  William  Penn  founded  the  colony.  The 
importance  with  which  this  tree  was  regarded  was  no 
doubt  mainly  due  to  a  tradition  that  it  was  once  oc- 
cupied as  a  dwelling  by  a  family  of  Indians.  The 
tradition  most  likely  had  its  origin  in  the  circum- 
stance of  numerous  relics  having  been  found  in  the 
immediate  vicinity  of  the  tree,  indicating  the  exist- 
ence, at  some  period,  of  an  Indian  encampment  It 
had  become  so  much  an  object  of  interest  to  the 


108  THE    YEW. 

children,  that  one  of  the  first  excursions  which  they 
desired  to  make  after  coming  to  the  school  was  a  visit 
to  the  <  Indian  Tree/" 

This  tree,  which  must  have  been  at  least  300  years 
of  age,  was  destroyed  in  1845.  Some  of  the  pupils, 
either  ignorant  of  the  consequences,  or  with  a  mis- 
chievous craving  for  fun,  kindled  a  fire  in  the  cavity, 
which  soon  shrouded  its  noble  form  in  flames.  The 
news  of  this  catastrophe  was  received  by  the  scholars 
with  a  general  outburst  of  indignation. 

One  of  the  most  beautiful  and  interesting  trees 
which  decorates  the  English  landscape,  is  the  Yew. 
Its  tall  and  majestic  figure,  as  well  as  its  dense  and 
fine  foliage,  render  it  an  attractive  object;  while  the 
advanced  age  to  which  many  have  been  known  to  at- 
tain, would  naturally  excite  in  the  beholder  a  feeling 
of  peculiar  interest. 

The  Elm  and  the  Yew  are  the  favorite  trees  in  the 
Church-yard,  and  there  appears  to  be  considerable 
appropriateness  in  the  selection ;  the  former,  with  its 
long  pendulous  and  weeping  boughs,  harmonizes  with 
the  mournful  surroundings  of  the  tomb,  while  the 
latter,  with  its  perennial  verdure,  its  longevity,  and 
the  extraordinary  durability  of  its  wood,  is  emblema- 
tic of  that  unfading  existence  which  awaits  the  spirits 
of  the  redeemed. 

Gray,  in  his  beautiful  elegy,  assigns  to  these  a  very 
prominent  place. 

"Beneath  those  rugged  elms,  that  yew-tree's  shade, 

Where  heaves  the  turf  in  many  a  mould'ring  heap, 
Each  in  his  narrow  cell  for  ever  laid, 

The  rude  forefathers  of  the  hamlet  sleep." 


THE    YEW. 


109 


Perhaps  the  oldest  tree  of  this  kind  on  record  is 
the  "  Fontingall  Yew/'  which  stood  in  a  church-yard 
in  Scotland.  Its  age  is  unknown,  but  it  is  asserted 
that  there  is  strong  probability  of  its  having  been  a 
flourishing  tree  at  the  commencement  of  the  Christian 
era.  About  the  year  1790,  it  measured  56  feet  6 
inches  in  circumference  at  the  base  of  the  trunk.  It 
has  since  become  very  much  decayed,  and,  in  1833, 
the  entire  central  part  had  fallen  away,  leaving  it 
with  apparently  two  trunks  which  form  a  sort  of  arch, 
"  through  which  the  funeral  processions  of  the  High- 
landers would  sometimes  pass/'* 

The   famous   Yews    of    Fountain 
Abbey  in  Yorkshire  are  well  known. 
"The  abbey  was  founded  in  1132, 
in  the  midst  of  a  rough  piece  of 
wood-land,  in  which  grew  seven  large 
Yew-trees.     In    1658,    these    trees 
were  said  to  be  of  extraordinary  size, 
the  trunk  of  one  of  them  being  26 
feet  6  inches  in  circumference.     At 
that  time  but  six  were  standing,  the 
largest  having  been  blown  down,  and 
they  grew  so  closely  together  as  to  form  with  their 
boughs   a   cover   almost  equal  to  a  thatched  roof. 
Under  this  shelter  tradition  tells  us  the  monks  re- 
sided until  they  had  built  the  monastery."* 

"  The  Ankerwyke  Yew,  near  Stains,  is  supposed 
to  be  upwards  of  1000  years  old.  Henry  VIII.  is 


The  Yew. 


10 


*  London's  Arboretuia. 


110  THE    BUCKEYE. 

said  to  have  made  it  his  place  of  meeting  with  Annie 
Boleyn,  while  she  was  living  at  Staines ;  and  Magna 
Charta  was  signed  within  sight  of  it,  on  the  island  in 
the  Thames  between  Runnymede  and  Ankerwyke. 
The  girth  of  this  tree,  at  3  feet  from  the  ground,  is 
27  feet  8  inches. 

In  the  eastern  part  of  the  United  States,  the  Yew 
is  barely  more  than  a  small  bush,  seldom  above  a  few 
feet  high ;  while  in  the  west  it  becomes  a  fine  large 
tree  of  some  40  to  60  feet  in  height,  and  about  2  or  3 
feet  in  diameter.  It  is  here  one  of  the  most  conspi- 
cuous trees  of  the  forest.  The  Indians  of  Oregon 
use  the  wood  of  this  tree  for  making  bows,  it  being 
very  tough,  heavy,  and  elastic. 

Many  of  the  trees  of  our  American  forests  at  some 
seasons  of  the  year  are  laden  with  the  most  beautiful 
blossoms,  which  are  often  very  conspicuous,  and  some- 
times diffusing  a  rich  fragrance  around  them.  The 
appearance  of  an  apple  or  peach-orchard  in  the  spring 
is  an  object  so  familiar,  that  its  beauty  is  not  appre- 
ciated by  many. 

The  Buckeye,  a  species  of  Horse  Chestnut  which 
grows  in  Ohio,  whose  early  blossoms  are  the  resort 
of  the  Humming-birds  upon  their  arrival  from  the 
South ;  the  Catalpa,  a  familiar  ornament  around  our 
farm-houses;  the  Kentucky  Coffee,  a  native  of  the 
Western  States ;  and  the  Pride  of  India,  one  of  the 
most  lovely  objects  that  adorns  the  gardens  of  the 
South,  are  all  showy  and  ornamental  trees. 

The  Locust  also  is  a  very  valuable  addition  to  the 
list  of  our  botanical  friends ;  and  its  long  bunches  of 


THE    MAGNOLIA.  Ill 

fragrant  flowers,  which  hang  so  thickly  from  among 
its  fine  cut  foliage,  will  always  entitle  it  to  our  admi- 
ration. 

But  perhaps  we  may  consider  the  Magnolia  as 
standing  at  the  head  of  the  list  of  flowering  trees, 
for  the  elegance  as  well  as  the  great  size  of  its  blossoms. 
One  species  called  the  Umbrella  Tree,  produces  flowers 
in  considerable  abundance,  each  measuring  about  18 
inches  in  diameter  when  fully  expanded ;  they  are 
pure  white,  and  possessed  of  a  very  fine  odor.  An- 
other species,  which  grows  in  the  Southern  States, 
forms  a  handsome  tree  of  about  30  or  40  feet  in 
height,  and  in  the  early  summer  months  is  loaded 
with  its  large  white  blossoms,  which  are  about  5 
inches  in  diameter.  The  fragrance  of  these  flowers 
is  such  as  to  be  quite  perceptible  at  some  distance. 
This  tree  remains  green  during  the  winter,  and  only 
drops  its  leaves  as  a  new  set  are  produced  to  replace 
them. 


112  CONE-BEARING    TREES. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

CONE  -  BEARING    TREES  —  THEIR   PECULIARITIES  —  GIGANTIC 

TREES    OF    CALIFORNIA LOCALITIES    MOST   FAVORABLE   TO 

THE     GROWTH     OF     EVERGREENS WHITE     PINE YELLOW 

PINE LONG-LEAVED  PINE BLACK,   WHITE,    AND    HEMLOCK 

SPRUCE SILVER    FIR  —  LARCH CYPRESS  —  DURABILITY 

OF    CYPRESS    WOOD  —  THE    CEDAR   OF   LEBANON. 

E  have  spoken  in  a  previous  chap- 
ter of  the  effect  produced  upon  a 
landscape  by  the  variety  observ- 
able in  the  different  trees,  both 
as  to  their  outline  and  the  cha- 
racter of  their  foliage.  We  will 
now  notice  a  few  of  a  class  which  perhaps, 
above  all  we  have  mentioned,  exert  a  great 
influence  in  beautifying  the  face  of  the  earth. 
They  form  by  themselves  a  separate  group 
or  family  known  to  botanists  as  the  Conifera,  or  Cone- 
bearing  trees,  and  their  peculiar  appearance  will 
at  once  distinguish  them  from  others.  They  are 
mostly  evergreens,  and  their  foliage  consists  of  long, 
narrow  cylindrical  leaflets,  thickly  scattered  around 
the  stem,  as  in  the  various  species  of  Pine,  or  of 
short,  flat,  and  prickly  appendages,  arranged  in  a 
double  row,  one  on  each  side  of  the  stem,  as  may  be 


GIGANTIC   TREES   OF   CALIFORNIA.      113 

seen  in  the  Fir  and  Hemlock ;  or  sometimes  they  are 
placed  in  tufts  at  intervals  of  one  or  two  inches  apart, 
as  in  the  Larch,  &c.  Often  2,  3,  4,  or  5  of  these  leaves 
are  clustered  together  in  a  bunch,  and  wrapped  around 
at  the  base  with  a  sheath.  With  the  fruit  of  these 
trees  most  persons  are  familiar.  Some  of  the  cones 
are  particularly  beautiful,  especially  those  of  the 
Cedar  of  Lebanon  and  the  Norway  Fir. 

There  are  perhaps  few  trees  which  attain  to  more 
gigantic  proportions  than  some  of  the  varieties  be- 
longing to  this  class.  The  measurements  of  some 
recently  discovered  in  California  would  be  considered 
almost  fabulous,  were  not  the  accounts  substantiated 
by  the  most  undoubted  evidence. 

A  specimen  of  the  Gigantic  Wellingtonia,  which 
was  recently  felled,  measured  about  300  feet  in  length, 
and  60  feet  in  circumference  near  the  base ;  and  the 
following  extract  of  a  letter,  received  from  Dr.  Wins- 
low  of  California,  gives  dimensions  still  more  extra- 
ordinary. "  There  are  more  than  a  hundred  of  these 
trees  which  may  be  considered  as  having  reached  the 
extreme  limits  of  growth  which  the  species  can  at- 
tain. One  of  our  countrymen  measured  one,  of  which 
the  trunk  immediately  above  the  root  was  94  feet  in 
circumference.  Another  which  had  fallen  from  old 
age,  or  had  been  uprooted  by  a  tempest,  was  lying 
near  it,  of  which  the  length  from  the  roots  to  the  top 
of  the  branches  was  450  feet.  A  great  portion  of 
this  monster  still  exists,  and,  according  to  Dr.  Lap- 
ham,  the  proprietor  of  the  locality,  at  350  feet  from 
the  roots  the  trunk  measured  10  feet  in  diameter. 
10*  H 


114      GIGANTIC   TREES   OF   CALIFORNIA. 


Wellingtonia. 

By  its  fall,  this  tree  has  overthrown  another  not  less 
colossal,  since,  at  the  origin  of  the  roots,  it  is  40  feet 
in  diameter.  This,  which  appears  to  me  one  of  the 
greatest  wonders  of  the  forest,  and  compared  with 
which  man  is  but  an  imperceptible  pigmy,  has  been 
hollowed  by  fire  throughout  a  considerable  portion 
of  its  length,  so  as  to  form  an  immense  wooden  tube 
of  a  single  piece.  Its  size  may  be  imagined  when  it 
is  known  that  one  of  my  companions,  two  years  ago, 


GIGANTIC   TREES   OF   CALIFORNIA.      115 

rode  on  horseback  in  the  interior  of  this  tree  for  a 
distance  of  200  feet,  without  any  inconvenience.  My 
companions  and  myself  have  frequently  entered  this 
tunnel,  and  progressed  some  60  paces,  but  have  been 
arrested  before  reaching  the  end  by  means  of  wood 
which  had  fallen  from  the  ceiling.  Near  these  over- 
thrown giants  others  still  are  standing  not  inferior  to 
them  in  size,  and  of  which  the  height  astonishes  the 
beholder." 

In  reading  of  a  tree  450  feet  high,  and  30  feet  in 
diameter,  we  are  struck  with  large  figures,  but  we 
must  have  some  familiar  object  with  which  to  com- 
pare it  before  we  can  fully  realize  the  magnitude  of 
such  an  object.  If  the  tree  above  described  was 
placed  in  the  chasm  of  the  Niagara  river  at  the 
Suspension  Bridge,  it  would  stand  200  feet  above 
the  top  of  the  bridge.  By  the  side  of  Trinity  Steeple 
in  Broadway,  New  York,  it  would  overtop  it  by  160 
feet.  It  would  be  230  feet  higher  than  Bunker  Hill 
Monument,  and  270  feet  above  the  Washington  Monu- 
ment in  Baltimore.  If  cut  up  for  fuel,  it  would  make 
at  least  2500  cords,  or  as  much  as  would  be  yielded 
by  60  acres  of  good  woodland.  If  sawed  into  inch 
boards,  it  would  yield  about  2,500,000  feet,  and  fur- 
nish sufficient  3-inch  plank  for  25  miles  of  Plank- 
road.  This  is  quite  enough  for  the  product  of  one 
little  seed  less  in  size  than  a  grain  of  wheat. 

By  counting  the  annual  rings,  it  appears  that  some 
of  the  oldest  specimens  have  attained  the  age  of  3000 
years.  If  this  computation  be  correct,  and  there  is 
probably  no  good  reason  to  doubt  it,  they  must  cer- 


116      GIGANTIC    PINE  —  WHITE    PINE. 

tainly  have  existed  in  the  days  of  the  Prophet  Elijah, 
or  even  as  Dr.  Lindley  observes  of  the  tree  first  de- 
scribed, "It  must  have  been  a  little  plant  when 
Samson  was  slaying  his  Philistines." 

On  the  Pacific  coast  there  is 
found  a  species  of  Pine,  very 
similar  in  its  appearance  to  our 
common  White  Pine,  which 
grows  to  the  height  of  200  feet. 
The  trunk  of  a  specimen  which 
had  been  overturned  by  the 
winds  measured  215  feet  in 
length,  and  57  feet  in  circum- 
ference at  3  feet  from  the  base, 
and  at  134  feet  from  the  ground 
was  about  6  feet  in  diameter. 
Gigantic  pine.  These  are  straight  and  beauti- 

fully tapering,  and  sometimes  170  feet  without  a 
branch.  The  cones  measure  about  16  inches  in  length. 
One  of  the  most  pleasing 
characteristics  of  the  Coni- 
fera  is  their  evergreen  fo- 
liage. When  dark  winter 
spreads  a  sombre  veil  over 
the  landscape,  how  charm- 
ing and  enlivening  is  the  ef- 
fect produced  by  a  few  Pines 
and  Firs !  In  cold  climates, 
where  the  winters  are  long, 
and  the  ground  is  covered 

White  Pin*  leaves  arranged       mofltj y  ^  Rnow_driftS,  tho 


THE    YELLOW    PINE. 


11 


general  dreariness  of  the  aspect  is  relieved  by  the 
abundance  of  the  evergreens.  This  appears  to  be  a 
special  provision  of  Providence  to  give  additional 
comfort  to  the  inhabitants,  as  it  is  observed  that  these 
trees  delight  in  cold  and  elevated  positions. 

In  the  mountainous  districts  of  the  Northern  and 
Eastern  States;  upon  the  Alleghanies,  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  the  Sierra  Nevada  of  California,  and  tha 
Table  Lands  of  Mexico;  on  the  lofty  Himalaya 
Mountains,  the  snow-crowned  hills  of  Norway,  and 
on  the  far-famed  heights  of  Mount  Lebanon,  may  be 
seen  in  the  greatest  perfection  some  of  their  most 
beautiful  and  wonderful  forms. 

Of  those  which  are  most 
familiar  to  us  as  natives  of 
our  own  land,  are  the  White., 
Yellow,  and  Long  -  leaved 
Pines  ;  the  White,  Black,  and 
Hemlock  Spruce;  the  Silver 
Fir,  the  Larch,  and  the  Cy- 
press ;  (the  two  latter  are  not 
evergreen).  Besides  which, 
there  are  many  others  of  less 

*  t   .  TT 

value  and  importance.  Upon 
the  White  and  Yellow  Pine 
we  are  dependent  for  a  large  amount  of  the  lumber 
used  in  building  both  our  houses  and  ships.  The 
Hemlock  also  is  a  valuable  tree  to  the  ship-builder, 
as  its  trunk  is  remarkably  straight,  and  gradually 
tapering  toward  the  summit,  which  makes  it  particu- 
larly serviceable  for  masts  and  spars. 


Yellow  Pine,  leaves 

arranged  in  twos. 


118  SILVER    FIR  —  LARCH. 

From  the  Yellow  and  Long-leaved 
Pines  we  have  our  supply  of  turpen- 
tine; and  from  the  Silver  Fir  is  ob- 
tained a  very  useful  resinous  sub- 
stance, known  as  Balm  of  Gilead, 
or  Canada  Balsam. 

The  Larch  and  the  Cypress,  al- 
though cone-bearing  trees,  differ  from 
the  rest  in  being  what  are  called 
"  deciduous,"  which  means  that  they 

Silver  Fir.  ,          ,,.'«,. 

lose  their  foliage  every  year. 
In  the  summer  season,  the  Larch  is  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  trees  that  graces  the  forests  of  the 
Northern   and  Eastern  States.     Its   tall 
straight  shaft,  sometimes  100  feet  high, 
and  3  feet  in  diameter  at  the  base,  with  its 
minute  foliage,  which  is  densely  arranged 
upon  its  long  and  slender  branches,  toge- 
ther with  the  perfect  symmetry  of  outline 
which  it  often  assumes,  render  it  an  at- 
tractive object.  It  is  a  comparatively  rare 
tree,  and  is  not  known  to  exist  much  south 
Larch         °^  ^e  ^at^U(^e  °^  Philadelphia,   except 
where  it  has  been  planted  as  an  ornament. 
In  the  warmer  parts  of  the  United  States,  the 
place  of  the  Larch  is  supplied  by  the  Cypress.     In 
South  Carolina,  Georgia,  Florida  and  Louisiana,  this 
tree  grows  in  immense  quantities  in  the  low  swampy 
grounds  contiguous  to  the  large  rivers.    These  "  Cy- 
press Swamps,"  as  they  are  called,  often  occupy  thou- 


THE    CYPRESS.  119 

sands  of  acres.  In  this  rich  alluvial  soil,  upon  which 
a  new  layer  of  vegetable  mould  is  every  year  depo- 
sited by  the  floods,  the  Cypress  attains  its  utmost 
development;  the  largest  being  about  120  feet  high, 
and  30  to  40  feet  in  circumference. 

The  European  Cypress  is  an  evergreen :  its  foliage 
bears  a  close  resemblance  to  our  common  Red  Cedar. 
It  grows  in  various  parts  of  the  country  adjacent  to 
the  Mediterranean  Sea.  It  is  most  abundant  on  the 
islands  of  Crete  and  Cyprus,  from  the  latter  of  which 
it  derives  its  name.  It  is  also  spoken  of  in  Ecclesi- 
asticus  as  growing  on  Mount  Sion.  The  Gopher 
Wood  of  which  Noah  built  the  ark  is  supposed  to 
be  identical  with  the  Cypress.  The  great  durability 
of  the  wood  rendered  it  peculiarly  serviceable  to  the 
ancients.  Pliny,  the  Roman  historian,  says  that  the 
statue  of  Jupiter,  in  the  Capitol  at  Rome,  which 
was  of  Cypress,  had  existed  above  600  years  without 
exhibiting  any  signs  of  decay.  Plato,  a  heathen 
philosopher,  had  his  laws  engraven  on  Cypress-wood 
as  being  more  durable  than  brass.  Leon  Alberti,  a 
celebrated  .Florentine  architect  of  the  fifteenth  cen- 
tury, tells  us  that  he  found  the  wood  of  a  vessel 
which  had  been  submerged  1300  years,  and  which 
was  perfectly  sound,  to  be  principally  of  Cypress. 
The  Cypress  doors  of  St.  Peter's  Cathedral  at  Rome, 
which  were  removed  by  Eugene  IV.,  after  having 
stood  the  usage  of  over  1100  years,  were  entirely 
sound ;  and  it  was  the  custom  in  the  middle  ages  to 
bury  the  Popes  in  coffins  of  Cypress,  under  the  belief 
that  they  would  never  decay. 


120  THE    CEDAR    OF    LEBANON. 

The  Cypress  is  often  a  long-lived  tree,  although  it 
will  sometimes  attain  a  great  size  in  a  comparatively 
short  time.  A  tree  of  the  American  variety,  planted 
by  John  Bartram,  in  his  botanic  garden  near  Phila- 
delphia, some  100  years  since,  now  (1859)  measures 
about  9  feet  in  diameter,  and  over  100  feet  in  height. 
An  old  and  venerated  tree  of  the  European  species 
was  some  years  since  standing  near  Somma,  in  Lom- 
bardy,  which  was  supposed  to  have  been  planted  the 
year  of  the  birth  of  our  Saviour,  although  it  is  said 
that  a  record  exists  at  Milan  which  proves  that  it 
was  a  tree  in  the  time  of  Julius  Caesar,  B.  C.  42. 
So  great  was  the  respect  shown  for  this  tree,  that 
Napoleon  Bonaparte,  when  laying  down  the  plan  for 
his  great  road  over  the  Simplon,  diverged  from  the 
straight  line  to  avoid  injuring  it. 

In  the  Scriptures  we  find  frequent  allusions  made 
to  the  Pine,  the  Fir,  the  Cypress,  and  the  Cedar,  all 
of  which  appear  to  be  natives  of  Syria.  In  Isaiah 
xli.  19,  the  Pine,  the  Fir,  and  the  Cedar  are  spoken 
of;  and  again  in  Ix.  13,  "The  glory  of  Lebanon 
shall  come  unto  thee,  the  fir  tree,  the  pine  tree,  and 
the  box  together,  to  beautify  the  place  of  my  sanc- 
tuary." But  of  all  the  trees  of  this  class,  the  Cedar 
of  Lebanon  seems  to  have  been  regarded  by  the 
Sacred  writers  as  a  tree  of  uncommon  beauty,  and 
was  therefore  frequently  used  in  the  figurative  lan- 
guage of  the  times  to  convey  the  idea  of  majesty  and 
power. 

In  Ezekiel,  chap,  xxxi.,  we  have  the  following 
remarkable  expressions :  "  Behold  the  Assyrian  was 


THE    CEDAR    OP    LEBANON.  121 

a  Cedar  in  Lebanon,  with  fair  branches  and  with  a 
shadowing  shroud,  and  of  an  high  stature,  and  his 
top  was  among  the  thick  boughs:  his  height  was 
exalted  above  all  the 
trees  of  the  field,  and  his 
boughs  were  multiplied 
and  his  branches  became 
long,  because  of  the  mul- 
titude of  waters  when  he 
shot  forth.  The  Cedars 
in  the  garden  of  God 
could  not  hide  him  :  the 
Fir  trees  were  not  like 
his  boughs,  and  the 

Chestnut  trees  were  not  like  his  branches ;  nor  any 
tree  in  the  garden  of  God  was  like  unto  him  in 
his  beauty/'  In  this  beautiful  description,  two  of 
the  principal  characteristics  of  the  Cedar  of  Lebanon 
are  marked;  viz.,  the  length  and  number  of  its 
branches,  and  the  wide  expanse  and  density  of  its 
shade.  Few  trees  spread  themselves  so  thickly  upon 
every  side.  This  is  in  consequence  of  the  horizontal 
growth  of  the  branches,  which  shoot  out  in  great 
numbers  from  the  parent  stem,  forming  a  deep  and 
quite  impenetrable  shade.  These  branches  sometimes 
droop  so  as  almost  to  reach  the  ground. 

It  is  supposed  that  some  of  the  trees  still  standing 
on  Mount  Lebanon  are  the  remains  of  the  forests 
from  which  Solomon  obtained  the  wood  for  the 
building  of  the  Temple.  These  are  protected  with 
great  care,  and  are  accounted  sacred  by  the  inhabi- 
11 


122  THECEDAR    OF    LEBANON. 

tants.  But  they  are  gradually  diminishing  in  num- 
bers, and  almost  every  few  years  witnesses  the 
removal  of  one  or  more  of  these  interesting  relics, 
which  yield  to  decay  that  strength  which  has  defied 
the  blasts  of  ages. 

Of  those  whose  appearance  warrants  the  belief 
that  they  are  the  very  Cedars  under  whose  shade  the 
Patriarchs  of  old  have  rested,  in  1550  there  remained 
about  28,  in  1745  there  were  but  15.  Twelve  were 
recently  counted  by  a  traveller  (Lord  Lindsay),  who, 
speaking  of  them,  remarks,  that  he  and  his  com- 
panions halted  under  one  of  the  largest  of  them, 
inscribed  on  one  side  with  the  name  of  Lamartine. 
The  grove  was  composed  of  trees  of  various  ages 
growing  together ;  "  One  of  them,"  he  says,  "  by  no 
means  the  largest,  measured  19  \  feet  in  circumfer- 
ence, and  in  repeated  instances,  .two,  three,  or  four 
large  trunks  spring  from  a  single  root.  Of  the  giants 
there  are  several  standing  very  near  each  other,  all 
on  the  same  hill;  three  more  a  little  further  on, 
nearly  in  a  line  with  them ;  and  in  a  second  walk  of 
discovery,  I  had  the  pleasure  of  detecting  two  others, 
low  down  on  the  northern  edge  of  the  grove.  Lamar- 
tine's  tree  is  49  feet  in  circumference;  and  the 
largest  of  my  two  on  the  southern  slope  is  63  feet, 
following  the  irregularities  of  the  bark." 

This  Cedar  grows  not  only  on  the  mountains  of 
Lebanon,  but  also  on  Mounts  Amanus  and  Taurus, 
in  Asia  Minor,  in  some  parts  of  Africa,  and  on  the 
islands  of  Cyprus  and  Crete.  It  loves  cold  and 


THE    CEDAR    OF    LEBANON.  123 

x- 

mountainous  places,  and  on  Mount  Lebanon  it  grows 
freely  among  the  snow. 

With  some  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  East  the  wood 
of  this  tree  has  the  reputation  of  never  decaying, 
and  it  certainly  must  be  possessed  of  great  durability, 
or  it  would  not  have  been  selected  by  Solomon  for 
the  many  purposes  in  which  he  used  it,  where  that 
property  seemed  requisite.  It  is  described  as  soft 
and  fine-grained,  and  sometimes  beautifully  marked 
with  waving  lines.  It  has  an  agreeable  smell,  and 
indeed  everything  about  the  trees  has  a  strong  bal- 
samic odor,  giving  a  delightful  fragrance  to  the  air 
in  their  vicinity.  This  is  most  probably  the  smell  of 
Lebanon  spoken  of  in  Cant.  iv.  11,  and  Hosea  xiv.  6. 


Cone  of  Cedar  of  Lebanon 


124  THEPALMTEEE. 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE    PALM    TREE. 

MANNER    OF    GROWTH LEAVES FRUIT  —  THE  USES  OF  THH 

PALM — COCOANUT  TREE — DATE   TREE SAGO   PALM — CANES 

FOR  CHAIR  BOTTOMS — DRAGON'S  BLOOD — THE  FIXTURES  OF 
AN  INDIAN  COTTAGE — LOCALITIES  OF  THE  PALM — THE  PAL- 
METTO— NUMBER  OF  SPECIES  OF  PALMS — GENERAL  CHARAC- 
TERISTICS— THE  PALM  TREE  OF  THE  BIBLE. 

HE  interest  which  we  take  in  the 
study  of  Nature  will  be  found  to 
be  much  increased,  by  the  com- 
parison of  the  productions  of  one 
quarter  of  the  globe  with  those 
of  another.  As  in  smaller  plants, 
so  also  in  trees,  each  clime  is  adorned  with  a 
growth  peculiarly  its  own.  Those  trees  we  have 
already  described  are  such  as  are  most  fami- 
liar. To  these,  some  of  the  productions  of 
the  tropical  forests  will  form  a  striking  contrast, 
among  which  is  the  Palm,  whose  lofty  summit  rears 
itself  far  above  its  surroundings,  presenting  the 
appearance,  as  Humboldt  observes,  of  one  forest  above 
another.  We  can  form  but  little  idea  of  the  beauty 
of  this  stately  tree,  or  of  the  multiplicity  of  forms 


THE    PALM    TREE.  125 

which  it -assumes,  while  they  all  partake  of  the  same 
general  outline  and  character. 

It  will  be  remember- 
ed that  in  speaking  of 
the  growth  of  trees,  we 
mentioned  that  the  fresh 
deposits  of  wood  are 
made  on  the  external 
surface  of  the  trunk,  im- 
mediately under  the 
bark.  This  is  the  case 
with  all  the  trees,  with  a  Endogenous  wood. 

few  exceptions,  found  in  the  Temperate  Zone,  and 
they  belong  to  the  Exogenous  plants.  But  the  Palm 
may  be  regarded  as  the  type  of  the  third  natural  order, 
called  Endogenous,  which  has  been  heretofore  de- 
scribed; and  by  reference  to  the  adjoining  cut,  the 
peculiar  arrangement  of  the  particles  of  the  wood 
may  be  contrasted  with  that  of  the  exogenous  tree. 
In  the  exogenous,  the  centre  or  heart-wood  is  the 
hardest ;  the  new  growth  is  more  spongy,  while  the 
bark  is  quite  soft.  In  the  endogenous,  the  exterior 
is  hard  and  tough,  and  the  interior  is  soft,  and  often 
pithy. 

The  Palms  are  lofty  and  erect  trees,  with  slender, 
cylindrical  stems,  simple  or  rarely  forked,  and  are 
marked  more  or  less  distinctly  with  knots  or  rings, 
which  show  the  position  of  leaves  which  have  de- 
cayed and  fallen,  and  also  indicate  the  progress  of 
their  growth.  The  leaves,  which  are  large,  often 
11* 


126 


THE    PALM    TREE. 


Tupati  Palm— Leaves  fifty  feet  in  length. 

gigantic,  sometimes  measuring  50  feet  long  and  8 
wide,  are  of  various  shapes ;  the  largest  are  pinnate, 
or  divided  like  a  fern  into  long  narrow  leaflets ;  others 
are  entire,  and  measure  30  feet  long,  and  4  to  5  wide. 
The  pinnate  leaves  often  assume  the  form  of  an  im- 
mense fan,  which,  from  their  size  and  apparent  light- 
ness, are  objects  of  great  beauty. 

The  leaves  appear  in  huge  bunches  or  tufts  at  the 
summit  of  the  tree,  and  are  seated  on  long  petioles 


THE    PALM    TREE.  127 

or  footstalks,  and  a  constant  succession  is  produced 
from  the  centre  of  this  tuft,  to  supply  the  place  of 
the  lower  ones,  as  they  decay  and  fall  off. 

The  flowers,  which  singly  are  small  and  inconspi- 
cuous, generally  appear  in  such  dense  clusters  as  to 
render  them  peculiarly  striking,  especially  when 
newly  opened,  as  they  often  emit  a  very  powerful 
odor. 

The  Palm  trees  are  as  essential  to  the  comfort  of 
the  inhabitants  of  the  countries  in  which  they  grow, 
as  our  most  useful  trees  are  to  us.  To  the  Wander- 
ing Arab  they  afford  both  food  and  shelter ;  and,  as 
he  sits  beneath  its  refreshing  shade,  and  listens  to 
the  tales  of  luxury  and  ease  enjoyed  by  the  nations 
of  the  civilized  world,  when  he  is  told  that  they  have 
no  Date  trees,  he  turns  with  a  contented  heart  to  the 
barren  sands  of  his  own  dear  desert,  probably  won- 
dering how  they  endure  the  privation. 

Perhaps  we  cannot  better  illustrate  our  subject 
than  by  quoting  a  few  pages  from  an  interesting 
work  entitled,  "  The  Palm  Trees  of  the  Amazon,  and 
their  Uses,"  by  Alfred  Russel  Wallace,  who,  while 
on  a  recent  tour  of  discovery  to  the  tropical  parts  of 
South  'America,  was  so  struck  with  the  beauty  and 
grandeur  of  these  noble  trees,  that  he  was  induced 
to  make  many  close  and  interesting  observations  on 
their  habits  and  uses. 

"  The  materials  for  this  work  were  collected  during 
my  travels  on  the  Amazon  and  its  tributaries,  from 
1848  to  1852.  Though  principally  occupied  with 
the  varied  and  interesting  animal  productions  of  the 


128 


THE    PALM    TREE. 


country,  I  yet  found  time  to  examine  and  admire  the 
wonders  of  vegetable  life  which  everywhere  abounded. 
Huge  trees  with  buttressed  stems,  tangled  climbers 
of  fantastic  forms,  and  strange  parasitical  plants 
everywhere  meet  the  admiring  gaze  of  the  naturalist 
fresh  from  the  meadows  and  heaths  of  Europe. 
Everywhere,  too,  rise  the  graceful  Palms,  true 
denizens  of  the  tropics,  of  which  they  are  the  most 
striking  and  characteristic  feature.  In  the  districts 

which  I  visited  they 
Were  abundant,  and 
I  soon  became  inte- 
rested in  them. 

"The  purposes  to 
which  the  different 
parts  of  Palms  are 
applied  are  very  va- 
rious, the  fruit,  the 
leaves,  and  the  stem, 
all  having  many  uses 
in  the  different 
species.  Some  of 
them  produce  valua- 
ble articles  of  export 
to  our  own  and  other 
countries;  but  they 
are  of  far  more  value 
to  the  natives  of  the 

districts  where  they  grow,  in  many  cases  furnishing 
the  most  important  necessaries  for  existence. 

"  The  Cocoa-nut  is  known  to  us  only  as  an  agree- 


The  Cocoa-nut  Palm. 


THE    PALM    TREE.  129 

able  fruit,  and  its  fibrous  husks  supply  us  with  mat- 
ting, coir  ropes,  and  stuffing  for  inattresses;  but  in 
its  native  country  it  serves  a  hundred  purposes ;  food, 
and  drink,  and  oil  are  obtained  from  its  fruit;  hats 
and  baskets  are  made  of  its  fibre,  huts  are  covered 
with  its  leaves,  and  its  leaf-stalks  are  applied  to  a 
variety  of  uses.  To  us  the  Date  is  but  an  agreeable 
fruit,  but  to  the  Arab  it  is  the  very  staff  of  life ;  men 
and  camels  almost  live  upon  it,  and  on  the  abundance 
of  the  date  harvest  depends  the  wealth  and  almost 
the  existence  of  many  desert  tribes.  It  is  truly  in- 
digenous to  those  inhospitable  wastes  of  burning 
sands,  which  without  it  would  be  uninhabitable  by 
man. 

"  A  Palm  tree  of  Africa,  gives  us  oil  and  candles. 
It  inhabits  those  parts  of  the  country  where  the 
slave-trade  is  carried  on,  and  it  is  thought  by  persons 
best  acquainted  with  the  subject,  that  the  extension 
of  the  trade  in  palm  oil  will  be  the  most  effectual 
check  to  that  inhuman  traffic;  so  that  a  Palm  tree 
may  be  the  means  of  spreading  the  blessings  of 
civilization  and  humanity  among  the  persecuted  negro 
race. 

"  Sago  is  another  product  of  a  Palm,  which  is  of 
comparatively  little  importance  to  us,  but  in  the  East 
supplies  the  daily  food  of  thousands.  In  many  parts 
of  the  Indian  Archipelago,  it  forms  almost  the  entire 
subsistence  of  the  people,  taking  the  place  of  rice  in 
Asia,  corn  in  Europe,  and  maize  and  mandioca  in 
America,  and  is  worthy  to  be  classed  with  these  the 
most  precious  gifts  of  Nature  to  mankind.  Unlike 
I 


130  THE    PALM    TREE. 

them,  however,  it  is  neither  seed  nor  root,  but  is  the 
wood  itself,  the  pithy  centre  of  the  stem,  requiring 
scarcely  any  preparation  to  fit  it  for  food ;  and  it  is 
so  abundant  that  a  single  tree  often  yields  six  hun- 
dred pounds  weight. 

"The  canes  used  for  chair -bottoms  and  various 
other  purposes,  are  the  stems  of  a  species  of  calamus, 
slender  palms  which  abound  in  the  East  Indian 
jungles,  climbing  over  other  trees  and  bushes  by  the 
help  of  the  long-hooked  spines  with  which  their 
leaves  are  armed.  They  sometimes  reach  the  enor- 
mous length  of  600  or  even  1000  feet,  and  as 
4,000,000  of  them  are  imported  into  this  country 
(England)  annually,  a  great  number  of  persons  must 
find  employment  in  cutting  them. 

"  Among  the  most  singular  products  of  palm  trees 
are  the  resins  and  wax  produced  by  some  species. 
The  fruits  of  a  species  of  calamus  of  the  Eastern 
Archipelago  are  covered  with  a  resinous  substance 
of  a  red  color,  which  in  common  with  a  similar  pro- 
duct from  some  other  trees,  is  the  Dragon's  blood  of 
commerce,  and  is  used  as  a  pigment,  for  varnish,  and 
in  the  manufacture  of  tooth-powder.  A  lofty  palm, 
growing  in  the  Andes  of  Bogotd,  produces  a  resinous 
wax  which  is  secreted  in  its  stem,  and  used  by  the 
inhabitants  of  the  country  for  making  candles,  and 
for  other  purposes. 

"  The  leaves  of  palms,  however,  are  applied  to  the 
greatest  variety  of  uses ;  thatch  for  houses,  umbrellas, 
hats,  baskets,  and  cordage  in  countless  varieties  are 
made  from  them,  and  every  tropical  country  possesses 


THE    PA.LM    TREE.  131 

some  species  adapted  to  these  varied  purposes,  which 
in  temperate  zones  are  generally  supplied  by  a  very 
different  class  of  plants.  The  Chip,  or  Brazilian- 
grass  hats,  so  cheap  in  this  country,  are  made  from 
the  leaves  of  a  palm  tree  which  grows  in  Cuba, 
whence  they  are  imported  for  the  purpose. 

"  The  papyrus  of  the  ancient  Egyptians,  and  the 
metallic  plates  on  which  other  nations  wrote,  were  not 
used  in  India,  but  their  place  was  supplied  by  the 
leaves  of  palms,  on  whose  hard  and  glossy  surface  the 
characters  were  inscribed  with  a  metallic  point.  These 
leaves,  when  strung  together,  form  the  volumes  of  a 
Hindoo  library. 

"  We  have  now  glanced  at  a  few  of  the  most  im- 
portant uses  to  which  Palms  are  applied,  but  in  order 
to  be  able  to  appreciate  how  much  the  native  tribes 
of  the  countries  where  they  most  abound,  are  de- 
pendent on  this  noble  family  of  plants,  and  how  they 
take  part  in  some  form  or  other  in  almost  every  action 
of  the  Indian's  life,  we  must  enter  into  his  hut  and 
inquire  into  the  origin  and  structure  of  the  various 
articles  we  shall  see  around  us. 

"  Suppose  then  we  visit  an  Indian  cottage  on  the 
banks  of  -  the  Rio  Negro,  a  great  tributary  of  the 
river  Amazon,  in  South  America.  The  main  sup- 
ports of  the  building  are  trunks  of  some  forest  tree 
of  heavy  and  durable  wood,  but  the  light  rafters  over 
head  are  formed  by  the  straight  cylindrical  and 
uniform  stems  of  the  Jard  palm.  The  roof  is  thatched 
with  large  triangular  leaves,  neatly  arranged  in 
regular  alternate  rows,  and  bound  to  the  rafters  with 


132  THE    PALM    TREE. 

sipds  or  forest  creepers ;  the  leaves  are  those  of  the 
Caran£  palm.  The  door  of  the  house  is  a  framework 
of  thin  hard  strips  of  wood  neatly  thatched  over  j  it 
is  made  of  the  split  stems  of  the  Pashiuba  palm.  In 
one  corner  stands  a  heavy  harpoon  for  catching  the 
cow-fish;  it  is  formed  of  the  black  wood  of  the 
Pashiuba.  By  its  side  is  a  blow-pipe  ten  or  twelve 
feet  long,  and  a  little  quiver  full  of  small  poisoned 
arrows  hangs  up  near  it ;  with  these  the  Indian  pro- 
cures birds  for  food,  or  for  their  gay  feathers,  or  even 
brings  down  the  wild  hog  or  the  tapir,  and  it  is  from 
the  stems  and  spines  of  two  species  of  Palms  that 
they  are  made.  His  great  bassoon-like  musical  in- 
struments are  made  of  palm  stems ;  the  cloth  in  which 
he  wraps  his  most  valued  feather  ornaments  is  a  fibrous 
palm  spathe ;  and  the  rude  chest  in  which  he  keeps 
his  treasures  is  woven  from  palm  leaves.  His  ham- 
mock, his  bow-string  and  his  fishing-line,  are  from 
the  fibres  of  leaves  which  he  obtains  from  different 
palm  trees,  according  to  the  qualities  he  requires  in 
them,  —  the  hammock  from  the  Miriti,  and  the  bow- 
string and  fishing-line  from  the  Tuciim.  The  comb 
which  he  wears  on  his  head  is  ingeniously  constructed 
of  the  hard  bark  of  a  palm,  and  he  makes  fish-hooks, 
of  the  spines,  or  uses  them  to  puncture  on  his  skin 
the  peculiar  markings  of  his  tribe.  His  children  are 
eating  the  agreeable  red  and  yellow  fruit  of  the 
Pupunha  or  peach  palm,  and  from  that  of  the  Assai 
he  has  prepared  a  favorite  drink,  which  he  offers  you 
to  taste.  That  carefully-suspended  gourd  contains 
oil,  which  he  has  extracted  from  the  fruit  of  another 


THE    PALM    TREE. 


183 


species ;  and  that  long  elastic  plaited  cylinder,  used 
for  squeezing  dry  the  mandiocca  pulp  to  make  his 
bread,  is  made  of  the  bark  of  one  of  the  singular 
climbing  palms,  which  alone  can  resist  for  a  consider- 
able time  the  action  of  the  poisonous  juice.  In  each 
of  these  cases  a  species  is  selected  better  adapted 
than  the  rest  for  the  peculiar  purpose  to  which  it  is 
applied,  and  often  having  several  different  uses  which 
no  other  plant  can  serve  as  well ;  so  that  some  little 
idea  may  be  formed  of  how  important  to  the  South 
American  Indian  must  be 
these  noble  trees,  which 
supply  so  many  daily  wants, 
giving  him  his  house,  his 
food,  and  his  weapons." 

The  Palms  may  be  said 
to  be  almost  exclusively  a 
tropical  production,  a  few 
only  being  found  either  to 
the  north  or  to  the  south 
of  their  limits.  A  beauti- 
ful species,  the  "Palmetto," 
grows  in  considerable 
abundance  in  South  Caro- 
lina and  Florida :  this  ap- 
pears to  be  the  only  one 
which  exists  so  far  north 
on  this  continent.  The  whole  number  of  species  yet 
known  is  about  600,  of  which  275  are  natives  of 
America. 

The  Palms  present  in  their  varied  forms  some  of 
12 


The  Palmetto. 


134  THE    PALM    TREE. 

the  most  graceful  and  picturesque,  and  certainly  some 
of  the  most  majestic  objects  to  be  found  in  the  vege- 
table world.  They  stand  out  with  their  light,  airy, 
and  sometimes  plume-like  foliage,  in  harmonious 
contrast  with  the  deep,  dark,  and  rank  growth  of  the 
underwood.  Notwithstanding  there  is  much  simi- 
larity in  their  general  character,  yet  the  difference  is 
frequently  great.  Some  species  attain  the  enormous 
stature  of  200  feet,  while  others  have  no  stems 
visible  above  ground,  and  display  nothing  but  a  wide- 
spreading  bunch  of  huge  leaves }  some  are  like  reeds 
and  are  no  thicker  than  a  quill,  others  attain  a 
diameter  of  3  feet.  The  trunks  of  some  are  smooth, 
and  some  are  rough  with  concentric  rings,  "  or  clothed 
with  a  woven  or  hairy  fibrous  covering."  From  the 
trunks  of  other  species  project  cylindrical  spines  8  or 
10  inches  in  length  and  quite  sharp,  which  it  may 
be  supposed  often  interrupt  the  progress  of  the 
traveller,  as  well  as  prove  dangerous  enemies  in  the 
dark. 

The  bold  and  erect  posture  of  the  Palm  tree  is 
proverbially  emblematic  of  perfect  uprightness.  Thus 
David  says,  "The  righteous  shall  flourish  like  the 
Palm  tree." 

The  branches  of  the  Palm,  or  rather  their  long 
leaves,  were  also  considered  as  emblems  of  victory, 
and  were  often  used  as  such  on  occasions  of  public 
rejoicing.  When  our  Saviour  made  his  triumphant 
entry  into  Jerusalem,  some  of  the  people  "  took 
branches  of  Palm  trees,  and  strewed  them  in  the 
way."  And  in  the  vision  of  St.  John,  the  multitude 


THE    PALM    TREE.  135 

which  no  man  could  number,  were  seen  standing 
before  the  throne,  clothed  with  white  robes,  and  had 
palms  in  their  hands. 

In  the  many  places  in  Scripture  where  the  Palm 
is  mentioned,  it  undoubtedly  alludes  to  the  Date  tree 
which  was  formerly  abundant  in  Palestine,  and  still 
is  a  tree  of  frequent  occurrence  throughout  Asia 
Minor,  Arabia,  and  Egypt. 


Cocoa-nuts. 


INDEX. 


Acorn,  wonders  of,  88,  89. 
Acrogenous  plants,  70. 
African  Palm-tree,  129. 
Air-plants,  42. 
Alga?,  70. 
Aloe,  37. 

blooms  but  once,  37. 

cultivated  in  tropical  America, 
38. 

fibres  of,  used  in  making  rope 
bridges,  39. 

paper  made  from,  by  the  ancient 
Mexicans,  39. 

various  uses  of,  39. 
Alpine  plants,  73. 
Amaryllis,  Yellow,  55. 
Amazon,  1'alm-trees  of  the,  127-133. 
American  Daisy,  48. 
Ankerwyke  Yew,  109. 
Annuals,  83. 
Anther,  28. 
Aquarium,  60-63. 

plants  best  adapted  to,  65. 
Aquatic  plants  render  water  pure, 

60. 

Arctic  Circle,  flowers  of,  72. 
Arctic  regions,  Willow  of,  102. 
Aspen,  106. 

Barley,  16. 
Barren  Pine,  78. 

how  supplied  with  moisture,  79. 
Barton  on  the  Passion-Flower,  41. 
Bashan,  Oaks  of,  93. 
Beech,  98,  99. 

Bible,  origin  of  the  term,  20. 
Biennials,  83. 
Bignonia,  43. 
Birch,  104. 

Birch-bark  canoes,  105. 
12* 


Black  Oak,  93. 

Black  Walnut,  99, 100. 

Bloom,  how  to  prolong,  33. 

Blossoming  trees,  110. 

Boddington  Oak,  95. 

Box-wood,  87. 

Buckeye,  110. 

Bud  contains  the  entire  plant  in 

miniature,  84. 
Bulbous  roots,  84. 
Bulrush  of  the  Bible,  19. 
Butterfly  Orchis,  43. 

Cabinet-ware  woods,  87. 

California,  large  trees  of,  113-116. 

Calla,  55. 

Calyx,  27. 

Canada  Balsam,  118. 

Canes  for  chair-bottoms,  130. 

Canoe  Birch,  104, 105. 

Carolina  rice-fields,  19. 

Catalpa,  110. 

Catkins,  27. 

Cauline  leaves,  35. 

Cedar  of  Lebanon,  120-122. 

spoken  of  by  prophet  Ezekiel, 

120. 
Cedars  of  Lebanon,  121. 

number  of,  now  remaining,  122. 

properties  of  the  wood,  123. 
Century  Plant,  37. 
Cereal  grasses  rapid  in  growth,  15. 
Cereus,  Night-blooming,  30,  31. 
Chandos  Oak,  95. 
Charter  Oak,  93. 
Chestnut,  98. 

its  resemblance  to  the  Oak,  97, 

98. 

China  Aster,  48. 
Circulating  fluid  of  plants,  58. 
(137) 


138 


INDEX. 


Cocoanut,  129. 
Compound  flowers,  49. 
Cone-bearing  trees,  112. 

enlivening  effect  of  their  foliage 

in  winter,  116. 
Conifera,  112. 
Convolvulus,  44. 
Cork  Oak,  92. 
Corolla,  27. 
Corymb,  29. 

figured,  31. 
Cowthorpe  Oak,  97. 
Crawley  Elm,  104. 
Crocus,  81. 
Curled  Willow,  103. 
Cyme,  29. 

figured,  32. 
Cypress,  118. 

a  long-lived  tree,  120. 

swampa  of  the  South,  119. 
Cypress-wood,  durability  of,  119. 

supposed  to  be  the  gopher-wood 
of  Scripture,  119. 

Daisy,  47,  48. 

a  compound  flower,  48,  49. 

Michaelmas,  48. 
Date,  129. 
Date-tree,  the  palm  of  Scripture, 

135. 
Dog-wood,  flowers  of,  30. 

Egyptian  Water-Lily,  64. 

venerated  by  the  Hindoos,  54. 
Elm,  103,  104, 108. 
Endogenous  plants,  13. 

trees,  125. 
Epiphytes,  43. 
European  Cypress,  119. 
Evening  Primrose,  31. 
Evergreens,  75, 116. 
Exogenous  trees,  86. 

Fascicle,  29. 

figured,  30. 
Ferns,  70,  71. 

seed-vessels  of,  71. 
Fibrous-rooted  plants,  use  of,  84. 
Filament,  28. 
Fir,  113, 117, 120. 
Flowers,  25,  26. 

abound  in  mountainous  places, 
73. 

common  form  of,  28. 

different  arrangement  of,  29. 

of  Arctic  countries,  73. 


Flowers  of  the  grasses,  13. 

parts  of,  described,  27,  28. 

seed-producing  organs  of,  27. 

various  shapes  of,  28. 
Flushing  Oaks,  93. 
Fly-trap,  82. 
Fontingall  Yew,  109. 
Food-plants,  their  power  of  repro- 
duction, 14. 
Fronds,  71. 
Fruits,  34. 

Garden  8000  feet  above  the  sea,  74. 
Grass,  meaning  of  the  term  as  used 
in  Scripture,  12. 

many  varieties  of,  12. 
Grasses,  abundance  of  seeds,  14. 

formation  of,  13. 

order  of,  in  creation,  11. 
Great  Water-Lily,  51. 
Gopher-wood,  119. 

Hemlock,  117. 
Hickory,  100. 

Himalaya     Mountains,    rhododen- 
drons of,  75,  76. 
Hindoo  paper,  131. 
Hollow  Elm  at  Hampstead,  104. 
Holly-leaved  Oak,  92. 

Indian  Corn,  17. 
Insect-catching  plants,  82. 
Involucre,  30. 

figured,  34. 
Ipomaea,  45. 

Jacobean  Lily,  56. 

curious  process  of  fertilization, 

56. 
Jara  Palm,  131. 

Larch,  118. 

Large  trees  of  California,  113-116. 
Leaves,  breathing-organs  of  plants, 
58. 

of  endogenous  plants,  13. 

of  the  fir,  112, 

of  the  larch,  113. 

of  the  palm,  uses  of,  130, 131. 

of  the  pine,  112. 

of  various  species  of  oak.figured, 
88-93. 

varieties  of,  35. 

various  shapes  of,  35,  36. 
Lebanon,  cedars  o£  121-123. 
Lichens,  70. 


INDEX. 


139 


Light  not  essential  to  all  flowers,  30. 
Lily,  the  emblem  of  purity,  50. 

many  varieties,  51. 

of  the  New  Testament,  55. 

of  the  Old  Testament,  54. 
Live  Oak,  91,  92. 
Locust,  110. 

Lombardy  Poplar,  103, 106. 
Lotus,  54. 
Loudon's  Arboretum,  quoted,  94-97. 

Magdalen  Oak,  96. 

Magnolia,  111. 

Maize,  17. 

Marine  plants,  65. 

Marvel  of  Peru,  32. 

Meadow-grass,  recuperative  power 

of,  23. 

Merton  Oak,  94. 
Michaelmas  Daisy,  48. 
Milfoil,  66. 
Mimosa,  82. 
Morning-Glories,  44. 
Mosses,  70. 
Mould,  70. 
Mount  Etna,  famous  chestnut-tree 

of,  98. 

Mummy  wheat,  15. 
Myriophyllum,  66. 

Napoleon's  Willow,  102. 

Nature's  power  of  adaptation,  78, 

79. 

Nectary,  27. 

Night-blooming  Cereus,  30,  31. 
Night-blooming  flowers,  30. 

Oak,  growth  of,  described,  89,  90. 
in  Syria,  confined  mostly  to  ele- 
vated positions,  92. 
its  resemblance  to  the  chest- 
nut, 97,  98. 
varieties  of,  88. 
Oaks,  several   celebrated  English, 

described,  94-97. 
Oats,  17, 18. 
Old  trees,  94,  96,  98,  99,108, 109,120, 

122. 

Orchids,  42,  43. 

Orders  of  the  vegetable  kingdom,  12. 
Ornamental     trees     of    American 

forests,  110. 
Ovary,  27. 
Oxygenation  of  air  by  leaves,  60. 

Palestine,  oaks  >f,  92. 


Palm,  124-135. 

almost  exclusively  tropical,  133. 

emblem  of  uprightness,  134. 

leaves  of,  126. 

of  Scripture,  135. 

utility  of,  127. 
Palm-branches  emblems  of  victory, 

Palms,  leaves  of,  formerly  used  in 
India  as  paper,  131. 

of  South  America,  131, 132. 
Palmetto,  133. 
Pampas  Grass,  22. 
Panicle,  29. 

figured,  32. 
Paper  Birch,  104. 
Paper  of  the  ancients,  20. 
Papyrus,  19-21. 
Pashiuba  Palm,  132. 
Passion-Flower,  40,  41. 

Barton's  verses  on,  41. 
Peduncle,  29. 
Perennials,  83. 
Perfumes  highly  esteemed  by  the 

ancient  Jews,  81. 

Period  of  rest  in  plants,  how  indi- 
cated, 74. 
Petals,  27. 

Picture-writings  of  the  Mexicans,39. 
Pines  of  the  United  States  Pacific 

coast,  116. 
Pistils,  27. 
Pitcher  Plant,  79. 
Plants  adapted  to  air  and  water,  66. 

evolve  oxygen  in  daytime,  59. 

of  cold  countries  usually  have 
white  flowers,  73. 

power  of  motion  in,  81-83. 

resemblance  of  their  functions 
to  those  of  animals,  58. 

respiration  of,  58,  59. 

their  season  of  rest,  74. 
Plato's  laws  engraved  on  cypress- 
wood,  119. 
Pollen,  28. 
Pond  Lily,  54. 
Poplar,  103,  106, 107. 

Lombardy,  103, 106. 
Pride  of  India,  110. 
Primrose,  Evening,  31. 
Pulque,  40. 

Raceme,  29. 

figured,  30. 
Radical,  35. 
Reflected  flowers,  28. 


140 


INDEX. 


Respiration  of  plants,  58,  59. 

Rhizome,  71. 

Rhododendron,  75. 

Rice,  18. 

Rice-fields  of  Carolina,  19. 

Ringent  flowers,  28. 

Rings  in  exogenous  wood  denote 

years  of  growth,  91. 
Roots,  83,  84. 

Rope  bridges  of  Mexico,  39. 
Rose,  45-47. 

cultivation  of,  in  India,  46. 

wild,  47. 
Rose-wood,  87. 

Saffron,  81. 

Sago,  129. 

Salcey  Forest  Oak,  94. 

Samphire,  68-70. 

Sandal-wood,  87. 

Sap,  circulation  of,  90. 

effect  of  light  on,  90. 
Satin-wood,  87. 
Scriptures,  allusions  to  cone-bearing 

trees  in,  120. 
Sea-Aquarium,  68. 
Sea- Weed  s,  67,  70. 
Sensitive  Plant,  82. 
Shapes  of  leaves,  35,  36. 
Shellbark  Hickory,  100. 
Silver  Fir,  118. 
Sleep  of  plants,  32. 
South  American  Indians,  usefulness 

of  the  palm-tree  to,  132. 
Spadix,  56. 
Spike,  29. 
Spikenard,  80. 
Spruce,  117. 

roots  of,  used  in  making  birch- 
bark  tents,  105. 
Stamens,  27,  28. 
Starwort,  66. 
Stems  of  the  grasses,  14. 
Style,  27. 
Sun-flower,  49. 
Sweet  Potato,  45. 

Tea,  annual  product  of,  in  China,  78. 
Tea-leaves,  properties  of,  77. 
Tea-Plant,  76. 

green  and  black  tea  product  of 

the  same  plant,  77. 
Tents  made  of  birch-bark,  105. 


Thyrse,  29. 

figured,  33. 

Tortworth,  chestnut-tree  at,  98. 
Transformation  of  an  insect,  63-65. 
Trees  add  to  beauty  of  a  landscape, 
103. 

contrast  of,  afforded  by  different 
climates,  124. 

3000  years  old,  115. 

uses  of,  85,  86. 
Trumpet-Flower,  43. 
Tuberous  roots,  84. 
Tulip,  55. 
Tulip  Poplar,  107. 

Umbel,  29. 

figured,  31. 
Umbrella  Tree,  111. 
United  States,  variety  of  plants  of, 
74. 

Vegetable  kingdom,  orders  of,  12, 
Vegetative  power  of  wheat,  15. 
Venus  Fly-trap,  82. 
Victoria  Regia,  51-53. 

Bridges's  account  of  discovery 
of,  51,  52. 

Walnut,  99. 

Water  Buttercup,  66. 

Water-Lily,  54. 

Wax  from  palm-trees,  130. 

Weeping  Willow,  101. 

Wellingtonia  of  California,  113. 

Wheat,  15. 

not  found  wild,  15. 
White  Pine,  116,  117. 
White  Lily,  55. 
White  Oak,  93. 
Whorl,  35. 
Wild  Roses,  47. 
Willow,  varieties  of,  102. 
Winfarthing  Oak,  94. 
Woods  used  in  the  arts,  87. 

Yellow  Amaryllis,  55. 
Yellow  Birch,  104. 
Yellow  Pine,  118. 
Yew,  108. 

in  the  United  States,  110. 
Yews  of  Fountain  Abbey,  109. 

Zebra-wood,  87. 


